Meet Jerry Royer, Western Salisbury Volunteer Firefighter

Name: Jerry Royer

Age: 67

Lives: Salisbury Township

Family: Married with five children and stepchildren and a big extended family.

Job: Retired from PPL’s computer services department.

Fire company: Western Salisbury Fire Dept. Previously served with the Tri-Clover Fire Co.

Training so far: After 33 years with the company, he’s taken basic training; he’s certified as an EMT, and takes Haz-Mat courses and CPR training on a regular basis. “We do a lot of basic training on our own to keep our skills up,” he says. Years ago he also served with the Cetronia Ambulance Corps.

What's it like being a firefighter? “Rewarding, stressful.”

How do your loved ones feel about you putting your life in danger? “It’s stressful for our families, too, waking up in the middle of the night when our pagers go off, and worrying about us when we are gone, but there’s a lot of satisfaction helping someone who has a problem. When you do it as a volunteer, it shows a little bit more dedication.”

Tell us a story you'll never forget about your firefighting experience. “Any time we help someone, when someone turns around and says thank you very much, that just means so much. Once a dispatcher said a plane had crashed into a store I had just sent my three daughters into, but they were OK. And the house I live in today I was the first firefighter here three years ago when they had a fire. It’s ironic I own a house I actually fought a fire in.”

What would you tell people interested in joining your fire company: “It takes time and commitment. It’s challenging. The regulations today are making it tough if you are a new firefighter coming in. It’s not ‘walk in, jump on the truck next week.’ Yes, it is dangerous, but we try to reduce that as much as possible. On the other hand, it is extremely rewarding. In fact, my wife’s grandson told me he is joining a fire department as a junior.”