Retired fire captain recalls 30 years of service | Local News

Captain Pat Tawney remembers the roll call and the men he could have lost.

Tawney retired June 2 from the Fremont Fire Department, where he served for 30 years and one week. His career has included tender moments of people thanking firefighters, paramedics and ambulances and heartbreaking moments of trying to help accident victims.

Amidst it all, there was a camaraderie among the firefighters who spent days and nights working together in emergency situations.

One of them happened in March 2019 when Fremont became an island after floodwaters covered the roads, making them impassable.

On March 14, the department received a call about the collapse of the walls of a house near the Elkhorn River. Three adults and a 2-year-old child were inside.

“They said two walls had come down and the third was about to go,” Tawney said.

It was dark, windy and cold and the firefighters were short of help. With limited resources, Tawney launched a call on Facebook for airboats.

Crews were deployed east of US Highway 30 to rescue people. The mission started well since seven men in two boats left.

“Everything was great,” Tawney said. “They were in shallow water and the wind was behind them. They got to where they needed to go (on a county road that was underwater). They were rolling down the road.

Rescuers were about to turn east when a wave sank the first boat. The second boat stopped to check on the first and then sank.

The men, who had a radio, called for help.

Tawney said his heart didn’t just sink when he heard the call.

It was like it was falling on him.

He called firefighter (now lieutenant) Nick Morris, who said the men were getting cold in the water.

“Hang on. We try to help you,” Tawney said.

Tawney said Morris doubted help would arrive.

After a while the men planned to either shake hands and try to get out of the flood water or tie together and try to get out as a group.

But the men were chest-deep in flowing icy water. Debris, including trees, and chunks of ice floated beside them.

Tawney was called and said a Nebraska National Guard Blackhawk helicopter was 10 minutes away and would rescue the men.

All seven were rescued and taken to Methodist Fremont Health.

It was as close as Tawney had ever come to losing someone under his command.

“It changes your perspective on life,” Tawney said. “You never want to put someone in that position. It’s a horrible feeling.

Many hugs followed at the hospital, and then the firefighters who were part of the crews returned to work six hours later.

Tawney is grateful that everyone under his command returned home during his three decades in office, and looking back he has many fond memories of his career.

A graduate of North Bend Central in 1984, Tawney worked at Schuyler’s Excel Beef plant for more than five years. He joined the North Bend Volunteer Fire Department in 1986.

He enjoyed the camaraderie, excitement and community involvement that the fire department offered. At the time, the department hosted several steak and fries dances and events.

“As a young guy, it was fun to be a part of it,” he said.

In 1990, he moved to Lincoln to attend Southeast Community College, where he would earn an associate’s degree in fire science technology.

Tawney was still in college when he joined the Southeast Rural Volunteer Fire Department.

His work in this department involved maintaining the station, fueling the trucks, and replenishing supplies. He drove the first fire engine to the fire scenes.

Being new, it was a little scary bringing a truck to stages in an area he was unfamiliar with.

And that was in a time before cell phones and Google Earth, which provides images of places via satellite.

Tawney graduated in March 1992 and was hired in May by the Fremont Fire Department.

“When I tested – at the time – we had 118 to 125 people applying for a job,” he said.

Tawney thinks her experience at Lincoln and North Bend, as well as her associate degree, have been beneficial.

“At the time, we had pretty big resumes,” he said.

Other men – Dave Wordekemper, Alan Atkinson, Tom Christensen, Jamie Meyer, Todd Coffey – hired around the same time as Tawney had a lot of experience and schooling when they were hired, he said .

Tawney was an emergency medical technician (EMT) when he was hired and earned his intermediate EMT certificate in 1997. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1999 and became an EMT paramedic in 2000. Medical training required thousands of ‘hours.

He was promoted to captain in 2006.

Over the years, Tawney has enjoyed the camaraderie among firefighters, who once traveled to weddings and hosted baby showers and barbecues when off duty.

This changed as the firefighters became extremely busy.

“They still do things together, but not as much as they used to,” he said.

Firefighters did more training in the early 1990s, but the time for it seemed to slip away with the increase in squad calls.

However, the crews still receive training.

“When you’re busy and doing 13, 14, 18 races a day, we think that’s a lot of practice. Guys get pretty proficient at what they’re doing,” Tawney said.

He enjoys meeting people from the community when researching potential fire hazards in businesses. It’s hard to find the time to make those connections now, he said.

Tawney has fond memories of grateful people as rescue team personnel performed life-saving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on them after cardiac arrest.

It was rewarding when these people stopped by the fire station with cookies or flowers and shook hands with squad members.

Sometimes people would bring flowers to a funeral and say things like, “Thank you for everything you’ve done for dad. I know you tried.

“It’s nice when they recognize that you gave it your all to try to help someone they loved,” he said.

Tawney remembers fatal accidents before a bypass was built near Menards.

“Every time we got a call at that intersection, it was horrible,” Tawney recalled. “We practically put a (medical) helicopter on standby almost every time we went there.

“I don’t know how many, but we had a lot of deaths, major traumatic accidents in that corner until they luckily got that overpass.”

Tawney said it seemed like when he started with firefighters the accidents were worse.

“We still have some bad chances, but it doesn’t seem like they’re regular like they were back then, where multiple people were injured or killed in one incident,” he said. “I think airbags have evolved so much and vehicle safety has changed so much that it’s improved. We really went through some tough times with car crashes in the early to mid-90s.”

At her retirement party, Tawney complimented the firefighters.

“They’ve made my job awfully easy for 30 years and you can’t thank them enough for that,” he said. “And you’re hoping they see increases in staff, because they’re going through a pretty desperate time right now.”

Tawney is continuing his job as Dodge County Supervisor after taking office in January 2021. He plans to run for re-election.

He and his wife, Jolene, have five children, Bailey (and her husband, Austin) Lammers; Travis Schoeneck (and his wife, Ashley); Alec Tawney; Kortlyn Tawney (and her husband, Aaron); and Olivia, graduating from North Bend Central High School in 2022; and three grandchildren.

Tawney looks to the future with many fond memories of a long career helping others.