The Jackson Township Fire Department’s motto since 1952 is to save life and property. For the past 43 years Chief Ted Heck has formally been part of it, but Heck was involved in the fire department long before that.
“I was here as early as I could walk,” he said.
His father, Glenn Heck, was the fire chief in New Philadelphia for more than 25 years.
Over the years Heck has gotten other job opportunities, but he always turned them down.
“This is where I wanted to stay,” he said.
Heck described his job as a 24-hour-a- day job. Even in an administrative position, it never really stops.
“It’s not your typical 9-5 job,” Heck said.
One that thing he misses by being chief is the personal interaction with the firefighters, he said.
“You never know what’s goanna come down.”
A close view of a lot of grief and agony comes with his work, he said.
“You see the seedier side of life,” he said of the grief and agony often witnessed in the job.
There is also a more positive side, like births he has witnessed in some rare situations when they were called to the scene.
“Those are the ones that brighten your day,” he said.
One more comical incident that he remembers distinctly was one of a boy who got his head stuck in the banister of a staircase. The mother had tried butter and oil to dislodge her son’s head before calling for help, so by the time the fire department came the boy was saturated in butter and oil. Those kinds of incidents Heck remembers fondly.
Retirement is a reluctant one for Heck, but he said he will retire sometime within the next year.
“It will be a drastic change,” he said.
The move from the fire service will be tough to walk away from, but he doesn’t see himself walking away entirely Heck said. He will continue to be involved through teaching and consulting.
He looks back on his career in the fire service with pleasure.
“I have been blessed,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed it tremendously.”
