Heeding the Call
The Baumgardners – father Mark and son Mark Jr. – say that working for the Crown Point Fire-Rescue Department has become a family commitment and tradition.
In some families, the lure of firefighting – and the call to public service – is passed from generation to generation. Such is the case with the Baumgardner family. Mark Baumgardner Sr. started working for the city of Crown Point as an emergency medical technician in 1979, then learned firefighting skills and was trained as a paramedic. He’s now the Emergency Medical Services division chief and his son, Mark Jr., is a volunteer firefighter and EMT with the department and training to be a paramedic. “My son always heard my work stories when I came home and realized this was something he wanted to do, too,” says Baumgardner Sr. “It’s not unusual for families to be in this line of work together.” The city first established a fire department in 1873. The Crown Point Fire-Rescue Department now serves the city and parts of Center Township with about 20 full-time employees and 30 volunteers who all undergo rigorous training. Located in a 1991 emergency services building near the city square, the department responded to 2,903 calls in 2005, which was an increase of about 300 calls from the previous year. “When other people go home, we’re working round the clock,” Baumgardner Sr. says. “There’s a lot of commitment, and volunteers are doing this above and beyond their work and family obligations.” Baumgardner Sr. says each call is different, and the crew has heard it all – from house fires to dogs that have fallen through ice on lakes.
“You never know what’s going to happen, so you have to be ready all the time,” he says. Story by Kari K. Ridge
Photo by Brian McCord
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The Baumgardners – father Mark and son Mark Jr. – say that working for the Crown Point Fire-Rescue Department has become a family commitment and tradition.
In some families, the lure of firefighting – and the call to public service – is passed from generation to generation. Such is the case with the Baumgardner family. Mark Baumgardner Sr. started working for the city of Crown Point as an emergency medical technician in 1979, then learned firefighting skills and was trained as a paramedic. He’s now the Emergency Medical Services division chief and his son, Mark Jr., is a volunteer firefighter and EMT with the department and training to be a paramedic. “My son always heard my work stories when I came home and realized this was something he wanted to do, too,” says Baumgardner Sr. “It’s not unusual for families to be in this line of work together.” The city first established a fire department in 1873. The Crown Point Fire-Rescue Department now serves the city and parts of Center Township with about 20 full-time employees and 30 volunteers who all undergo rigorous training. Located in a 1991 emergency services building near the city square, the department responded to 2,903 calls in 2005, which was an increase of about 300 calls from the previous year. “When other people go home, we’re working round the clock,” Baumgardner Sr. says. “There’s a lot of commitment, and volunteers are doing this above and beyond their work and family obligations.” Baumgardner Sr. says each call is different, and the crew has heard it all – from house fires to dogs that have fallen through ice on lakes.
“You never know what’s going to happen, so you have to be ready all the time,” he says. Story by Kari K. Ridge
Photo by Brian McCord
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