BonnerSprings.com

Cliff Lane's 30-year career with the Edwardsville Fire Department all started with three choices back in 1978.

After serving in the Army for three years, Lane returned home looking for a job and a path in life. Sitting in an employment office, Lane was given three choices: janitor, worker for City Market in Kansas City, Mo., or firefighter with the Edwardsville Fire Department.

"I chose this one," Lane said of the firefighter position. "I didn't know a thing about it but I said, 'I'm going to try that.'"

It's now been 30 years to the month, and Lane still thinks it was one of the best choices he ever made. He eventually made his way up the ladder from firefighter to lieutenant to captain to assistant chief and finally fire chief, a position he's held for the last 15 years.

Lane said as a young boy he never saw his life going in the direction it has. He wanted to be a mail carrier or social worker, he said.

"I like dealing with people and helping people," he said. "I just wanted to help people."

The firefighting business allows him to do just that, and he said he's enjoyed getting to know the community over the past 30 years. Lane welcomes people stopping by wanting to talk, either about the firefighting business or even a personal issue. His open-door policy has lent to his forming many close relationships, he said.

As he looks back on his career in Edwardsville, Lane said the differences between where the department started and where it is now are amazing.

"We've come a long way since 1978," he said.

Back then, it was a four-man crew that took in the emergency calls, sent for volunteers, dispatched themselves and then fought the fires. Everything at the station was in pristine condition, which took hard work when there aren't many people to help with the workload, Lane said.

Starting out, Lane said he didn't know a thing about firefighting. He came in with an open mind and spent the first few months in training.

"They had to teach me a lot of stuff," he said.

Eventually, and with the signing of a waiver, Lane was on his own. Back in 1978, the firefighters often worked solo shifts, which meant he was not only doing all the dispatching but he was alone with a fire until a volunteer showed up.

"We were a one-man show until help arrived," Lane said. "It was scary. I guess after a while you got used to it. You just had to do your best and hopefully someone would show up to help."

Lane also remembers riding on the tail runner of the truck as it sped to the site of a fire. He said no one ever thought that it might not have been safe, whereas now there are many regulations to follow from the National Fire Protection Association.

Lane has fought many fires during his time with the department, but he fights significantly fewer nowadays. When he first started, Lane said the department fought a structure fire almost every two to three weeks. Now, he said they see maybe two to three structure fires a year.

There are two fires from his past that Lane said stand out from all the others. In the mid-1980s, before Piper had its own fire department, Lane and another member of the crew were dispatched to Piper for a structure fire.

Lane was sent inside and his partner stayed outside to pump the truck. He began fighting the fire the best he could but had lost a lot of time due to the distance they had to travel to get there. At this point he was still "young and fresh," and at the scene he stumbled upon something he'd never forget.

"I found the body," said Lane of a person who died in that fire. "It was the first time I'd every experienced anything like that."

Another fire that stands out in Lane's memory is known today in the department as the Watkins Fire, which burned a building that used to stand in Edwardsville on Fourth Street next to the current Post Office location.

The shop sold spices and herbs, but what Lane remembers is the near-frostbite he got on his feet. He took a break to sit in the ambulance and let his feet thaw out, but in a short time, he said he was back to fighting the fire, trying to ignore the pain in his feet.

Now the department has three shifts with four to five crew members for each. Lane said the added help has allowed the department to expand its services within the community to include fire education in the schools every year and more CPR training classes.

With better equipment, more personnel and increased services, Lane takes pride in how far the department has come.

While he never saw himself staying with the department for the long haul, Lane said getting to know the community and its people is what has kept him in Edwardsville for so long.

He said he would rather talk with people and educate them on fire safety than punish them for acts such as illegal burning. This rapport with others goes back to his basic instinct to help people and what his goal always was when he joined the department at age 22.

Lane has been married to his wife, Valerie, for 22 years and the couple lives in Bonner Springs. Lane also has four grown children.

"Since I couldn't become the mail carrier or social worker like I originally thought, I think the Lord had other plans for me," Lane said. "I think I was just meant to help others in another way."

Comments

1. 

   greggomer (anonymous) says…

   God bless Cliff! Edwardsville should be proud that he serve the City. I have worked with Cliff when I was an EMT and know he cares about the people.

   Dr Gomer

   August 8, 2008 at 2:39 p.m.

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2. 

   telesa (anonymous) says…

   Cliff, congratulations on 30 years. Not bad for someone 39 years old!!! Seriously, you have been a great asset to Edwardsville. I enjoyed working with you when you ran some time at Bonner EMS. Keep up the good work.
   Telesa

   August 8, 2008 at 4:16 p.m.

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