Neighbors in Gear: A Look Inside Fort Mitchell’s Volunteer Fire Department
In Fort Mitchell, unpaid professionals are the ones answering the call for service – neighbors who become heroes in moments of crisis.
Residents see them on their worst days, or when they are working fires and accidents. But what they do not see is the sacrifice, the training, and the tradition that shape the firefighters who answer the call – experiences which may stay with them forever.
Fort Mitchell Volunteer Fire Department’s Ladder One outside of station as crews prepare for calls on Tuesday, Mar. 3, 2026. (Image/Colin Scroggins)
The Fort Mitchell Volunteer Fire Department, an 18-member department, is led by Fire Chief Bob Franklin. Franklin has been a member of the department since 1992, sacrificing dinners, family gatherings, and holidays to serve a community that he still serves to this day.
Franklin joined the department after being recruited by his brother, who served as assistant chief at the time. What began as a family connection quickly became a lifelong commitment built on training, adaptability, and service to the Fort Mitchell community. He now uses his experiences and training to assist every firefighter who walks through the department doors.
“If I’m going to do something, I want to know what I’m doing,” Franklin said. “It’s important to have training – not just to do the job, but to keep people safe.”
From One Building to Hundreds of Calls
When Franklin first joined the department, the department had one single small building, which is now used as the gym, and responded to about 100 calls a year. Today, with many residents coming to the area and new subdivisions popping up, the number has grown to roughly 700 to 800 calls annually.
Fire Chief Bob Franklin, Assistant Fire Chief DJ Watson and another fire official share memories of old crew members in a picture on a wall at Fire Station 1 on Tuesday, Mar. 3, 2026. (Image/Colin Scroggins)
“We used to have to fold the mirrors in on the trucks just to get them through the doors,” Franklin said. “All our trucks were stick shift back then. Now everything’s automatic. Times change, and you adapt.”
Technology has evolved with the department over the years. Modern turnout gear is lighter and more protective, air packs are more advanced, and training standards continue to increase. Despite the evolving department, one thing that stays the same is the traditions, including the department’s iconic patches and helmets, and the stations being named after late community members and fire officials.
Community Funded and Supported
For decades, the department has relied entirely on community fundraisers to survive. Annual barbecues, bake sales, and car washes once paid for fuel and equipment. In some cases, early members even paid out of pocket to keep trucks running.
“That barbecue’s been going on for more than 40 years,” Franklin said. “We didn’t do it for fun, we did it because we had to.”
While funding has improved over the years through fire fees and limited tax revenue, Franklin says the community support is still essential. That support has gone beyond fundraising, but is even shown on social media.
“When we were blamed once for shutting down Highway 165, the community defended us before we even had to say anything,” he said. “That meant a lot.”
Volunteers Who Pay to Serve
Like volunteer departments across Russell County, Fort Mitchell’s firefighters are entirely unpaid. In fact, Franklin says volunteering often costs members money and time.
A college of photographs framed on a fire station wall show past fire department members, community members and trucks on Tuesday, Mar. 3, 2026 (Image/Colin Scroggins)
“You’ve got to put gas in your car, leave work, leave family time,” he said. “It’s getting harder for people to make that sacrifice.”
Members balance firefighting with full-time jobs and family responsibilities. Some work at nearby Fort Benning serving as emergency medical employees. Others are teachers, logistics workers, first responders, college students, small business owners, or electricians.
Despite that challenge, firefighters train weekly on Tuesday night. These training sessions are not focused on meeting Insurance Services Office standards, but on ensuring firefighters can react instinctively in emergencies.
More Than Fire Calls
Medical emergencies now account for 70 to 75 percent of the department’s calls. The rest range from crashes to all types of fire-related calls.
Firefighters are trained to cut victims from damaged vehicles, stabilize scenes, and work alongside law enforcement and EMS agencies across the county. The department regularly provides mutual aid to nearby departments and maintains strong working relationships with the Russell County Sheriff’s Office, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, and other agencies.
Fire equipment is rolled out of the back of Rescue 1 to showcase what tools are used on calls on Tuesday, Mar. 3, 2026. (Image/Colin Scroggins)
“That familiarity makes a huge difference when things go bad,” Franklin said.
Emotional Weight of the Job
Beyond the physical danger of being a firefighter is the emotional toll firefighters face during fatal incidents and calls involving children.
“You may see us joking on the side of the road, but that’s how we cope,” he said. “Some of the things we see aren’t things people are meant to deal with.”
Franklin said the department relies heavily on peer support and watching out for one another when a call hits close to home.
Training the Next Generation
One of Franklin’s and Assistant Fire Chief DJ Watson’s greatest points of pride is the number of people who have started their careers at Fort Mitchell and the number of students currently in training.
At Russell County High School, Watson runs the fire science class, where students earn Firefighter I certification and train for real-life scenarios. He believes the new generation will help sustain the fire service.
Watson also runs Alabama Fire College classes at the department, allowing members from surrounding communities to earn Firefighter I or Firefighter II certifications.
Assistant Fire Chief and Fire Science Teacher DJ Watson leads training on Tuesday, Mar. 3, 2026. (Image/Colin Scroggins)
Currently, firefighters at several departments are in the beginning stages of earning the Firefighter II certifications. Over the next couple of weeks, Watson will educate and train firefighters on several topics. Tuesday, Watson educated them on building materials, structural collapse, and the effects of fire suppression.
Former Fort Mitchell firefighters have used their training and certification to move on to paid fire departments across Alabama and beyond.
“We’ve trained people who are now firefighters in Columbus, Phenix City, and all over the state,” he said. “That’s fulfilling.”
The department attracts a wide-range of volunteers, including active-duty military, retirees, and military dependents, many tied to nearby Fort Benning.
How to Help
Volunteer fire departments nationwide are struggling. The U.S. volunteer fire service has lost nearly a quarter of its members since 2008, while the call volumes continue to explode, according to a report from the National Fire Protection Association.
Fort Mitchell Volunteer Fire Department on Tuesday, Mar. 3, 2026. (Image/Colin Scroggins)
Franklin encourages anyone interested in volunteering to stop by on Tuesday nights around 6:30 p.m., with training starting at 7 p.m.
He also encourages residents to show simple acts of appreciation
“If you see these guys on the side of the road in the heat, hand them a bottle of water or just say thank you,” Franklin said. “They’re giving time they don’t have to give.”
In the small town that continues to grow and change, the Fort Mitchell Volunteer Fire Department remains committed to answering calls not for a paycheck, but for the people who live on the other side of the emergency lights.
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