City honors veteran firefighter
City council chambers in City Hall was full of admiration and appreciation Tuesday night as firefighters, family and friends turned out to say farewell to another veteran Decatur firefighter who is stepping down.
Jim Hitchcock, best known as “Spank,” will be exiting the department this month after nearly 40 years of service.
“Jim has been a great friend, a great employee and great for all the things he does for the department,” Mayor Dan Rickord said of the department’s assistant chief as a large crowd looked on in City Hall’s council chambers.
Spank joined the department as a volunteer in 1983 and became a full-time firefighter in February of 1987. In 1990, he was promoted to Captain of Investigations, then, in 1994, took on the duties of assistant chief.
One of his pet projects for years has been the department’s smoke detector program. “He’s always thinking safety,” Rickord said. “That there are so many smoke detectors in the city is the result of Jim’s work.” (The department not only gives out smoke detectors free of charge, but installs them.)
The mayor pointed out that Hitchcock heads up a little-known “firestarter program,” in which he counsels youngsters who may have an inclination to start fires.
A resolution praising his work and his humanity was read aloud by City Attorney Anne Razo and Hitchcock was presented a Key to the City by the mayor.
Struggling emotionally, Hitchcock wasn’t able to say much, but he did thank his wife, Rita, his family and his fellow firefighters. “It takes a team effort,” Spank said.
Hitchcock is the third veteran firefighter to leave the department in the last year and a half.
Former chief Les Marckel stepped down last April after a 42-year career, 32 with the Decatur FD. In September of 2021, Tim Bauman retired
after a 42-years.
Brian (Bubba) Braun and Nick Patton have replaced Bauman and Marckel, and Chief Jeff Sheets is in the process of adding someone to take Hitchcock’s place. At full strength, the department has 11 full-time firefighters and approximately 24 volunteers.
In its resolution, council noted that Hitchcock’s leadership “has assisted in shaping the department into an effective, skilled and cohesive unit, which will serve as a lasting legacy of his influence within the department.”
The resolution also pointed out that Spank “has served the City of Decatur with distinction”... that the citizens of Decatur “are indebted to the veteran firefighter for his dedicated service as a firefighter and for his willingness to put his life at risk to protect others” … and that he “worked diligently and effectively to protect the safety of the general public, and of his fellow firefighters by eliminating fire hazards throughout the city which undoubtedly prevented serious fires and which surely prevented serious injuries, saved lives, property and livelihoods.”