Staring at a yellowed newspaper clipping inside the Dolores Volunteer Fire Department headquarters, Larry Johnson, 66, pointed to a small figure in the door of the Taylor Hardware Building, flames shooting out the top.
The year was 1984. Christmas decorations hung on the storefront as flames engulfed the building.
Thats me. I remember because I was the only one that was standing in the doorway, Johnson said.
Johnson has served as a volunteer for the Dolores Volunteer Fire Department for 40 years, and boy, does he have a few stories to tell.
Johnson was recently given an award for his 40 years of service at the annual Dolores Fire Department banquet, and McCoy was honored as fireman of the year.
The two shared some of their stories as firefighters. Johnson had a few more to tell.
You probably go on a call every three or four days, Johnson said. That adds up pretty quick.
Calls range from the spectacular fire that destroyed the Taylor Hardware store, one of the oldest buildings in Dolores, to medical calls.
You remember some of them, and some of them you want to forget, Johnson said.
McCoy said he still remembers his first call.
Calls always come when Im in the shower, he said jokingly. But I never knew how fast I could get dressed and out the door.
The adrenaline from the call and the feeling he gets from helping people kept Johnson going over the years and has hooked McCoy, 38, in the two years that he has served.
To help people and be there when they need it its an awesome feeling, McCoy said.
The sense of family when McCoy joined the department is another bonus.
I have never felt more welcome somewhere in my life, he said about the department.
McCoy said he has many years ahead of him to look forward to.
There have been so many lives saved by different firemen, Johnson said.
Johnson was awarded the National Red Cross Lifesaving certificate at one point during his career for administering first aid at the Hollywood bar to someone who had their throat slit with a knife.
Johnson and McCoy are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but say they wouldnt have it any other way.
The department is always in need of new volunteers.
You think you might not have time for it, but you find time, McCoy said.
And McCoy is a busy man.
He is a giver, Johnson said. And you have to be a giver to be a volunteer firefighter. But its hard to get volunteers nowadays.
Training is an important aspect to being a firefighter, and the department trains often.
The lives of people you are saving, yourself and your fellow firefighters depend on you knowing what you are doing, Johnson said.
We are proud of what we do and who we help, McCoy said.
