I have learned that life is a precious thing and it can be gone in the blink of an eye, so do not hesitate to tell someone you care about them, for you may never get the chance to say it at all. – Ken Folsom
Ken Folsom spent years volunteering to risk his life for a friend, neighbor or stranger in crisis.
He became “hooked on fire and smoke,” which is the title of a new book sharing his experiences as a volunteer firefighter in Geauga County.
“I hope readers will gain an insight as to what it means to be a volunteer firefighter in a small community and gain an understanding of the experiences all firefighters encounter during the career they love so much,” Folsom said. “To fellow firefighters who read my book, I know you will shed a tear at some of these stories, grin at some or share a laugh at others. I want them to all know that no one fights alone.”
He said serving as a volunteer firefighter made him proud, compassionate, stronger, persistent, a leader, a follower, a team player and who he is today.
Folsom, who currently is California State University Monterey Bay’s emergency manager, authored “Hooked on Fire & Smoke: The Story of a Volunteer Firefighter” with the intention of chronicling his journey as a firefighter, but to also connect with all emergency service workers.
“My book is a story of my life as a volunteer firefighter, but it is more than that, it is the story that each and every firefighter, law enforcement officer, EMT and dispatcher can relate,” Folsom said.
Geauga County Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand, who worked with Ken for more than 20 years, said it is great he was able to put his memories into a book.
“The good times and the not so good times are all recorded in this book,” Hildenbrand said. “It shows his life of dedicated service to his county and his community.”
Folsom started in fire service in 1976 with Russell Fire Department and ended his career in fire service in 2015 with the Middlefield Fire Department as safety inspector.
For 14 years, he served as Geauga County Department of Emergency Services/Emergency Management Agency deputy director.
But an opening in 2015 at CSU Monterey Bay Police Department called to his spirit.
He had never been to California.
“I do remember my mother telling me stories about her trip to California when she was a girl in the 1930s. I still have those mementos she saved from her trip all those years ago,” Folsom said. “Maybe it was my mother guiding me to the place she loved when she was a girl.
“If anyone is thinking of taking a chance on a new life’s adventure as I did, I would say this to you: Trust yourself, trust the feeling of why you are thinking of it in the first place, trust your own judgment and no one else,” Folsom added. “The courage to take a chance on anything, be it a life’s adventure or a career choice to be a volunteer firefighter, must come from within yourself and no one can make it for you.”
Folsom packed up his Jeep, camper and dog and headed west on a 10-day journey to the coast.
He started his new job Jan. 6, 2016.
“My baptism by fire to California wildfires in my first few months in the state was the experience of a lifetime,” Folsom said. “Me being from the east coast, I had never realized the effect these wildfires have on the local communities and just how devastating they can be.”
Folsom made sure to memories of his life on the east coast with him to California, including a picture of his dad, which sits on his desk.
“When I look at it, I think, my only regret in life is that he, a volunteer firefighter in late the 1930s and law enforcement officer in 1940s and 50s, never told me about his life and I never asked,” Folsom said, adding the purpose of writing this book is so his son, Wes, will not have the same regrets.
Longtime friend and mentor Mike Warner wrote the book’s forward.
“The residents should read this book to get an idea of how Geauga County operated in the past with only volunteer firefighters helping people,” said Warner, communications department captain at the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Dale Wedge hired Folsom as the Local Emergency Planning Committee person for Geauga County.
Wedge said it is interesting to read Folsom’s perspective on his life and actions.
“When Ken took over grants, training and planning, and this is several years ago, Ken had taught over 8,000 plus people in HAZMAT, incident response, incident command and countless other subjects,” Wedge said. “I’m sure that number is higher than that. Ken, either through his direct intervention or his teaching emergency responders, has probably saved many and many lives of citizens and also to those that can respond in a safe manner. It’s the quiet ones that without fanfare and without public notice, save lives in a special way.”
Folsom applauds anyone thinking of becoming a volunteer firefighter.
“The choice to become a firefighter, whether a volunteer or paid, is not just a career choice, but a life’s choice,” Folsom said. “You are entering into a new way of life, a new family of brothers and sisters all over the country and all over the world. Firefighters are all family one and all.”
He added, “The experiences you will have over your career will be many. They will be the greatest of your life and some will be the saddest of your life, but the fulfillment you will have from just doing your job cannot be matched by any other career.”
Geauga County is where Folsom learned what real friendships are.
“There is one very special fire chief I would like to thank,” Folsom said. “Chief Bill Reed of Middlefield Fire Department. Chief, you were always there when I needed you and made my memories possible.”
Folsom said all first responders understand the struggles they face, the scares they hold within and the memories haunting many of them doing the job they love so much.
“My wish is for those who internally struggle with this, find a personal way to let go of those memories that may haunt you,” Folsom said. “I found writing those memories down and sharing them with all of you is my way of letting go, or at least looking at them as what they are — just memories.
“I have learned that life is a precious thing and it can be gone in the blink of an eye, so do not hesitate to tell someone you care about them, for you may never get the chance to say it at all.”
