This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Meet Joshua Wells, New Chief of Western Salisbury Fire Department.

Joshua Wells has been a Western Salisbury Fire Department volunteer firefighter for 15 years.

Name: Joshua G. Wells

Age: 30

Lives: Allentown

Find out what's happening in Salisburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Family: Married to Katie Wells; they have a 2-year-old son, Casey.

Job: Owns Wells Lawn Service, Allentown, a landscape and snow removal company. “We concentrate on lawn maintenance,” says Wells.

Find out what's happening in Salisburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Fire company: Recently elected chief of .

Training so far: State-certified Fire Officer II, associate degree in emergency service technology from Northampton Community College. In July he’ll be a firefighter for 15 years.

What's it like being a firefighter? “It’s very enjoyable. You get to meet a lot of people and you make a lot of friends. We’re a very close-knit organization and group. It’s very rewarding, and very stressful at times.”

How do your loved ones feel about you putting your life in danger? “They worry about it but they take great pride in what I do. The worst is when you have calls when you’re having a family dinner, or playing with your kids. That’s the hardest thing for the family.” (Wells’s father, the Rev. Rodney Wells, volunteers as chaplain for the Western Salisbury Fire Department, and previously was a firefighter for many years.)

Tell us a story you'll never forget about your firefighting experience. “The highlight of my year is in October when we go to the schools and teach the young students about fire safety. You talk to the kids and they remember you, and you watch them grow up because you’ve been there so many times. “

What would you tell people interested in joining your fire company: “It’s a lot of hard work and dedication but the results and the feeling you get out of it are great. Being able to say you help somebody is a great thing. And you meet a lot of great people in the organization, and we really become like a family, because most people are there because they want to be there. We’re not getting paid to be there.”

 

 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Salisbury