Nearing the end of his 40-plus years as a volunteer firefighter in Walker County, Georgia, Skeet Gribble was visiting the community in rural Alabama where he was planning to move after retirement.
He was traveling with his son, Cody, also a volunteer firefighter in Walker County.
Fire stations in the northeast Alabama community of Gaylesville are served by mostly volunteer fire departments — just like Walker County was for much of Gribble’s career.
Firefighting has always been a part of his life, and Gribble said he signed on to serve the day he turned 18. The part he loves, Gribble said, is helping his community and the appreciation, whether it’s someone who was bleeding to death, having a cardiac arrest, trapped in a burning house or who fell at home.
“The thing that means the most to me is that little bit of gratitude you get by looking at their face and seeing that smile, or the ones that come by and say, ‘Hey, we appreciate what you guys do,'” Gribble said in an interview.