First on the scene, Forreston firefighter going strong after 50 years on job

FORRESTON – For 50 years, Jeff Burton has done his best to be the first Forreston firefighter to respond whenever there’s a call.

“If anybody around us calls for help, I try to be the first one down at the station and get over there to help them, no matter what they got,” Burton said during a June 12 gathering celebrating his 50 years volunteering at the Forreston Fire Protection District.

“You are the first, Jeff,” Fire Chief Robert Meyers chimed in.

“I am usually the first,” Burton agreed with a chuckle.

During the celebration, Meyers – who has been with the department for 39 years – presented Burton with a certificate from the Illinois State Senate, a plaque from the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal and a mounted golden ax from the Forreston Fire Protection District.

Forreston firefighters are only paid per call, Meyers said. Emergency medical technicians and paramedics are paid per call or for their time in-station.

Burton thanked the Forreston community, surrounding communities, his co-workers, children – daughter Jennifer Sarazin and sons Justin and Jeremey Burton – and his golden retriever, Wrigley.

He said he missed a lot of birthdays, holiday get-togethers and school activities.

“I was there when it started, they turned around to look for me and I wasn’t there no more,” Burton said. “I had a call. I had to go. It never changed. It never will change.

“I even missed out on some meals – even though it doesn’t look like it,” he added, drawing laughter from attendees. “You get that hamburger off the grill and it’s sitting right there for you and the tone goes off. You come back, and my dog Wrigley eats them. So I share it with him, too.”

Wrigley has learned the tone used to notify fire department personnel they’re needed, Burton said. When the tone goes off and he heads for his shoes, Wrigley comes out and looks at him.

“I say, ‘Dad’s got to go.’ He turns around, goes in the bedroom and jumps up on the bed,” Burton said. “When I come back home and it’s the middle of the night – no matter when it is, if I come home 2, 3 o’clock in the morning – I get home, who’s the first one that meets me at the door? Wrigley. He looks up at me, makes sure I’m OK. I say, ‘I’m OK, Wrigley.’ He turns around, goes in and takes my half of the bed,” Burton said to laughter. “So I spend the rest of that night in the recliner.”

His wife of 46 years, Jean Burton, got an extra special “thank you.”

“I’ve been in the department 50, so she’s pretty much went the whole trail with me,” Burton said. “When I’m leaving the house, she goes, ‘Be careful. Do you have your phone?’ If I don’t have my phone, she’s texting one of the other guys in the department saying, ‘Jeff forgot his phone.’ When I get home, the first thing she says is, ‘Are you OK? Is everyone else OK?’ ”

Jean has been there for him through the good calls and the bad ones, he said.

“The good calls, she’ll listen. The bad calls, she’ll listen forever,” Burton said. “There’s calls you have, maybe 15, 20, 30 years ago that you’ve had that, every so often, those come back in your mind. I bring that up to her. She sits there and listens to me. She’s a good listener. She’s been my rock.”

Burton joined the Forreston Fire Protection District in June 1972, just two months after turning 18. Five decades of service later, the 68-year-old has no plans to retire.

“I’m not retiring, folks,” Burton said. “I’m gonna continue as long as I can keep going. I feel good now, and I feel good helping people.”