GFB News Magazine

Answering the call: Farmers gear up to fight fires

by Jay Stone
News Writer

Posted on June 1, 2025 12:51 AM

Ryne Powers was talking about his service as a volunteer firefighter when he was interrupted, mid-sentence, by a tone from the emergency radio he carries. 

“I think that’s a fire call,” Powers said. He checked, and it was. The conversation would have to end there. Appling County’s Red Oak Fire Department, including Powers, responded and extinguished the fire. 

Few non-farm activities demonstrate farmers’ willingness to serve their communities as volunteer firefighting does. 

They work to put out fires when they occur but also go into burning structures to get people out, respond to controlled burns that get out of hand, handle vehicle fires, hazardous materials and more. 

It is not clear how many farmers are volunteer firefighters, but Steve Hirsch, chairman of the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), said their impact is significant.

“Fire departments in small towns are the lifeblood and the hub of the community. In our rural areas farmers drop everything to help when their neighbors need assistance,” Hirsch said. “Sometimes that means they plant or harvest the crops of someone with health problems, but daily farmers are responding to calls for a fire truck or an ambulance. Without them many small departments would cease to exist.”

Here's what is documented: According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s U.S. Fire Administration, there are 1,054,500 firefighters nationwide, and 685,000 of them are volunteers. 

In Georgia, Firefighter Standards Training Council Executive Director Randy Toms noted that there were 31,982 firefighters on March 20. He estimated 20,000 of them are volunteers. In Georgia, 81.5% of fire departments have some volunteer firefighters, and 71.2% of Georgia fire departments are either all volunteer or mostly volunteer, according to the National Fire Department Registry.

Volunteer firefighters receive the same training as career firemen. Once they complete the initial training, state regulations require them to undergo a minimum of 24 hours of training each year to maintain their certification. 

While they can qualify for pensions under the Georgia Firefighters’ Pension Fund, and some receive small per-call payments, farmers who volunteer make their living by farming, and they generally engage in firefighting for reasons apart from money.

Farmers driven to serve 

Madison County Cattle producer Corey Clements initially resisted suggestions that he become a firefighter, declining invitations when he was in his teens from then-fire chief Johnny Bridges. 

“He begged me to join when I got out of high school, but I just didn't care about it. I wasn't mature enough in my future planning to think about it,” said Clements, who raises cattle and grows hay on about 1,000 mostly leased acres. 

Still, Clements saw how his parents Carlene and Bobby always helped neighbors in any way they could. Carlene was part of a backpack drive, providing food to needy families, with Meadow Baptist Church. After Carlene died in 2023, the church named the program “Carlene’s Kids.” Bobby developed a reputation as the community fix-it guy, Corey said.

“All the neighbors around here would always come to my daddy for him to help fix something or do something,” Clements said. “I mean, he was the guy they always came to, asking ‘Can you help me do this? Can you help me do that? Can you fix my tractor?’” 

In true family fashion, Corey now refurbishes tractors for other people. 

Some of the land Clements farms is leased from Calvin Smith, who served as a volunteer firefighter for more than 50 years in Comer and was Clements’ inspiration to join the cause in 2010. More on Smith, now retired, can be found at www.gfb.ag/calvinsmith.

“He’s the reason a lot of us got into it,” Clements said. 

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Madison County farmers Corey Clements, left, and Jason Fortson on Comer Fire Department’s ladder truck. / Photo by Jay Stone
 

Clements’ son J.R. and nephew Jamie Patterson completed the firefighter basic training in April at the Georgia Public Service Training Center in Forsyth, where all Georgia firefighters begin learning the trade and earning state certification. 

Like Clements, Comer Fire Captain Jason Fortson volunteers as a firefighter to serve his neighbors. Both of their farms are located less than three miles from the Comer Fire Department station. Fortson raises broiler chickens. 

“The biggest thing is helping people in the community where I know everybody,” Fortson said. “If I can help somebody out just a little bit on one of their bad days, it means a lot to me.”

Farmers, Fortson said, fit well with the needs of a volunteer fire department. Their work keeps them nearby, and their ability to operate heavy equipment, install fencing, follow safety practices and solve problems dovetail with skills firefighters need. 

“There’s a lot of farmers in the state, and they’re around a lot,” Fortson said. “That's probably the biggest thing. Now, they may have to work late that night getting done, but they can help with the fire, and they can get their work done when they get back, whether it’s working in a chicken house, working on the fence or planting soybeans. Plus, farmers are hard workers. Firefighting is hard work. It isn’t for a lazy individual for sure.”

The Comer Fire Department aims to keep its manpower at 20 or more volunteer firefighters, Fortson said.

“We’re on 24/7. If you’re in town, you’re on call. If you go out of town, we all know about it because we know he won’t be able to respond.” 

Otherwise? “Everybody’s assigned to every call.” 

Madison County farmers Jason Fortson and Corey Clements extend the ladder on Comer Fire Department’s ladder truck. / Photo by Jay Stone
 

Farming & firefighting Legacy

Powers, a director with Appling County Farm Bureau (ACFB), took over the family farm from his grandfather, ACFB President Randall Odum. Powers grows cotton, corn, peanuts, soybeans, rye and wheat on about 2,000 acres while maintaining a herd of about 90 brood cows and four breeder chicken houses. 

It’s not a stretch to say Odum is also passing down the firefighting role. Now 80, Odum still drives the Red Oak fire engine to fire calls. Once on scene, he rolls out hoses and configures equipment. This enables Powers and Red Oak’s other firemen to go directly to the scene, don their gear, then jump into action. 

“I can suit up, but my main concern is getting the truck there while the other men are suiting up. I get the pump crank, set the [water] pressure, make sure all the equipment is ready, pull the hoses off the truck, have them ready to go into the house while they're suiting up and getting their air bottles and all that stuff on,” said Odum, who has been a part of ROFD since the mid-1980s when volunteer fire departments were established in Appling County.

Powers grew up seeing Odum’s involvement and said on occasion he got to tag along on fire calls.

“I decided I wanted to do it as soon as I was able to. When I was old enough I did it, and it has progressed. The longer I’ve been on it, the more I’ve seen the opportunities to help,” Powers said. “I’ve seen they would make a difference the older I get. To start with, I just kind of wanted to do it because my granddad did it, and I thought it was a cool thing to do. It’s more meaningful now.”

After earning his firefighter certification, Powers became certified as a first responder. He can provide initial first aid, including CPR, recognize drug overdoses and administer Narcan, take vital signs, stop bleeding and stint limbs until an ambulance arrives. He can then support the EMTs.

One advantage of having local volunteer firemen is they may have geographical knowledge that a 911 operator may not have, enabling them to minimize the response time. In the firefighting world, elapsed time equals increased medical severity and increased property damage.

“If they call us to a fire, and we know a quicker way [to get there] than they give us from 911, if I can cut off three minutes, it makes a difference,” said Odum.

Appling County Farm Bureau President Randall Odum directs a stream of water from the Red Oak Fire Department engine. / Photo by Jay Stone