NEWS ITEM
Dunn Firefighter Retires After Half-Century Of
Service
Reece Murphy,
Reporter
Members of the Dunn Fire Department visited Harnett Primary School accompanied
by the chief fire dog of the department as part of National Fire Prevention Week.
Assistant Fire Chief Boyd Barefoot told kindergarteners the importance of fire safety.
At right is a current photograph of Fire Chief Barefoot. - Submitted Photos
Boyd
Barefoot of Dunn was 28 years old or so when he first started as an auxiliary
volunteer with the Dunn Fire Department, but it would be another two years
before he would be fully accepted as a worthy full-time volunteer.
That was 1959.
Unlike today, there was a waiting list to be on the fire department back then,
and you really had to want it, your dedication and desire to be part of the team
proved by showing up for each and every fire regardless of where you were when
the siren called.
And if there was ever a firefighter who was dedicated to the Dunn Fire
Department it was Boyd Barefoot. Over the years Mr. Barefoot rose in the ranks
from neophyte firefighter through all offices, to deputy fire chief and more - a
man respected by fellow firefighters as somebody you could count on to be there
and do it right.
After more than 50 years with the department, Mr. Barefoot finally retired last
month at the age of 81.
"If we had something he was here," said Fire Chief Austin Tew, who has known Mr.
Barefoot since 1978. "Not knocking anybody, but you won't find that kind of
volunteer now.
"You just don't see someone who volunteers their time like that for 50 years,"
he said. "Volunteers have to have the attitude that they want to help somebody,
not "what's in it for you.' Boyd is that kind of person."
When Mr. Barefoot started with the fire department, the fire station was located
in Downtown Dunn on North Clinton Avenue where the new First Citizens bank is
now being built.
Billy Barfield of Dunn served on the fire department with Mr. Barefoot for more
than 36 years, starting in 1964.
He said back then firefighters were given a pair of rubber gloves, a rubber rain
coat, rubber boots and a helmet that must have weighed close to 10 pounds.
He said there wasn't nearly the training firefighters have to go through now.
Instead, firefighters relied on the wisdom of their peers, and Mr. Barefoot came
to be one of the wisest, his knowledge of firefighting and safety respected by
other firefighters throughout his career.
"On the FD, you have to look after the fellas with you; if you don't you're in
trouble because that man beside you, behind or in front of you, your life is in
his hand," Mr. Barfield said. "(Mr. Barefoot) looked after the men. He was a
good teacher and everybody listened to him.
"They're losing a good, knowledgeable employee. You see, operating a truck and
fighting a fire, you don't just throw water on it, you have to know what to do,"
he said. "Boyd always knew what to do, and if it wasn't right, he worked on
getting it right."
Mr. Barfield said Mr. Barefoot was known for his driving. After years of driving
an oil truck in his civilian life, there were few who could drive a truck better
than Mr. Barefoot.
Former Fire Chief Joe Campbell agreed and said Mr. Barefoot was one of the most
dependable firefighters in the department. He said it was Mr. Barefoot's ability
to operate the tanker truck and its attendant tasks that made Mr. Barefoot such
an integral part of the team.
More than just pulling levers and "lollygagging," Mr. Campbell said, the job
required not only a deep mechanical knowledge of the equipment but a
concentration on many other aspects at once, water levels, water pressure
requirements, number of hoses in operation and more.
"I never had any doubt when I took an inch-and-a-half fire hose into a burning
house that it wasn't going to be done right," Mr. Campbell said. "What he did
had my life in his hands. When you add two more hoses and four more guys it
became even more important.
"He was a very dedicated man, gave a lot of his time to the citizens of Dunn and
the fire service," he said. "He should be commended for his years of service."
Mr. Barfield said as well known as Mr. Barefoot was for driving a truck, fewer
still could drive a car like Mr. Barefoot did his in getting to the fire
station, his cars recognized everywhere for their fire engine red paint job.
"When you got to the station he was usually in his seat ready to go, he wanted
to get to that fire," Mr. Barfield said. "He was one of the old-time
firefighters, and as long as he could go to a fire he did."
Harold Bass, who joined the department in 1976, said he didn't know exactly what
kept Mr. Barefoot going, but the fact that he worked with the department for 50
years said something about the man.
"Anybody who gives 50 years of service to his neighbors has got to be somewhat
special, or something wrong with him," he said joking. "I can't tell you how he
felt, but you've got to be dedicated to do something like that so long.
"It's not like you're going to make any more money because you volunteer, you
have to do it because you love it," he said.
Mr. Barefoot said he has, indeed, loved his experience working for the fire
department.
He said since he's been with the department the only constancy is that, "It
still takes water to put out a fire."
He said even though he's only been gone a little while, seeing the trucks go by
already makes him miss the job.
"I've seen good times and bad times," Mr. Barefoot said. "You make some calls
that stick with you where people lose everything, but then you have a lot of
calls that there's nothing to and that's good.
"It's all about friendship and doing something to help the community in which
you live," he said. "When you live somewhere, you don't get anything out of it
if you don't help. And that's all I was doing."