'It's in the blood': White Oak Volunteer Fire Department honors 50-year member

Longview News-Journal
By Yoleyne Romero yromero@news-journal.com
Dec 26, 2022

Tommy Graves says being a firefighter is in his blood.

Graves, 68, recently marked 50 years of service to the White Oak Volunteer Fire Department. He was recognized by the department and Fire Chief Cameron Kizzie with a plaque adorned with a smooth bore nozzle he previously used.

Since he was 18, Graves has dedicated his time and effort to volunteering at the White Oak department and has served in a number of roles. He has been firefighter, fire captain and eventually fire marshal for 23 years before retiring the position in 2007. 

His duties have ranged from doing fire reports, arson investigation, building inspection, fire safety code enforcement and confirming the presence of fire lanes where needed, he said. 

He currently serves as a firefighter and, as a volunteer, gets to choose which calls he responds to, he said. Nonetheless, during his 50 years of service, he's been consistently on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week — a feat his wife, Diana, considers "huge".

When he was younger, Graves' father, Frank Graves, was White Oak fire chief for seven years. Seeing his father in the position and knowing his responsibilities made him want to follow in his footsteps, he said. 

The job has come with its fair share of difficulties, however. Graves said he and many of his fellow firefighters have mental "filing cabinets" in their head with some of most impactful memories on the job. 

"Some of it's good and some of it's very bad, and you 'gotta have the strength to handle that," he said.

He detailed the numerous times he's been called to the scene of a wreck or had to sift through rubble and ashes to find people who have burned to death. 

"It's a strain sometimes," Diana Graves said. "I mean, we've been married going on 30 years now, and for the most part when he walks out the door, I never know where he's going, when he's coming back. I just have to put him in God's hands, and it's hard."

Despite the difficulties, the experience and camaraderie of the job is what's kept him around so long, he said. Whether it's teaching new recruits, assisting local fire departments on their calls or being a player in the background, Graves said he enjoys it all.

He said when it comes time for him to finally step down, it won't be easy.

"It'll be very hard for me when I have to finally retire because it's like I say, it's in the blood," Graves said, adding he'd like to serve another five years.

Over the years, he's had his wife's support, even when that means waiting at home for seven hours with no communication or idea about his status, she said. 

"I'm so incredibly proud of him. I'm still kind of processing the whole thing," Diana Graves said. "When he went up there to receive the plaque from the fire chief ... that smile ... it's a real true 'Tommy Graves is excited' smile."

Kizzia, the White Oak fire chief, said the average time a volunteer firefighter serves at a department is 13 months. He recognized the significance of Graves' service and said he appreciated his dedication to the department and the sacrifices he has made.

"It's good to know that there's still people out there that's willing to serve their communities for that long and exceed the average time that an average volunteer firefighter serves on a fire department," he said.