Captain Ronald Scott Searls, Temple Fire and Rescue

 About 14 years ago, Scott had just returned from a deployment with the National Guard. He got home too late to register for the fall semester at college. And, he wasn’t really sure he wanted to keep going. His ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) working full time, and National Guard commitment made it difficult to carry a full course load. It was looking like he would be lucky to graduate before he turned 40! 

One day, he mentioned having an interest in applying for the fire academy. I thought it was a brilliant idea. So, I called his sister, Rebecca, and tasked her with getting him signed up. She got online, signed him up, he was accepted, and started on a career that has been perfect for him.

The fire department has a promotion process that I find narrow minded and discriminatory. It is all score based, with no performance assessment or job evaluations factored in. While Scott is brilliant, studying and test taking have always been a struggle for him. All because of the ADD. Therefore, advancement has been slow.

After several years of endless study and test taking, I think he was becoming really discouraged. The latest test was especially frustrating due to the lack of retiring captains. After talking to Molly about a few other stumbling blocks, it looked like Scott was going to miss out again. Wanting to enlist all the help I could on Scott’s behalf, I decided to turn it over to God. And,  He answered my  prayers! Scott was officially promoted to Captain on December 18, 2024.

The department held their annual Christmas party and promotion ceremony at the Mayborn Center in Temple. Several members of the family were able to show our support and attend. We were all so very proud of our firefighter!

Captain Searls

Molly pinning on his badge.

Ron and I pinning on his rank.

Receiving his official red captain’s helmet.

Swearing in and administration of oath.

The city official’s receiving line.

Happy family! Rebecca, John, Ron, Marian, Molly, Gwen and Scott

The ceremony was wonderful and  I am sure our proud smiles lit our faces. The feeling of brotherhood and family that the fire department has for one another was evident. We are so proud of Scott and his dedication to the community he serves.

Temple Fire Department October Promotion Celebration: Really late post!!!

Scott is getting promoted!  I never knew there was a specific promotion process in the fire department. I just assumed everyone was a fire fighter and the most experienced fire fighter was the captain.  Nope. It is a little more involved than that.  (And, I probably won't explain it correctly.)

When hired by the fire department, all new hires complete initial training in the fire academy. Some also take a paramedic course that is in addition to the basic medic training received in the academy. After 2 years as a fire fighter, you have the option to test for driver. The test results generate a promotion list that has to be exhausted during the fiscal year. If you make the list but are not promoted, you start all over again with a new test the following year.

Turn over in personnel in the fire department does not occur often. If it does, it is due to new hires either moving to another city or deciding fire fighting isn't what they thought it would be. Or, senior department members will retire. However, even that doesn't happen often because Temple isn't a huge city. 

Scott had taken the driver's exam a couple of times, but this year he finally got promoted. 

Scott; everyone's favorite.

Family and friends were invited to central station for the promotion ceremony and celebration. The fire chief and other department heads were all there. The promotion ceremony recognized new hires, paramedic course graduates, as well as those promoted to driver and captain.

The fire chief.

The fire department leadership.

During the ceremony, a family member is invited to pin those being recognized with the badge associated with the new rank. Scott asked me to put his pin on his shirt. 

I am still having a hard time getting used to that mustache.

Yay! I didn't stick him with the pin.

After the pinning ceremony, those newly hired were sworn in by the fire chief. 

Some of them are sooo young!

It was a very nice ceremony and the weather was perfect for being held in Central Station's open bays.  After the ceremony, the department provided visitors with refreshments and an opportunity to look around the station, take pictures, and visit with one another. 

Me with the two Ronalds.

Becca and Seth came out to support Scott.

We are all very proud of the profession Scott has chosen.  In a couple of years he will be able to test for captain. But for now, we are really thankful his driving is a rewarding one. 

As an added bonus in this post, here is a funny story. Seth was borrowing Ron's BMW and had driven it in from Gatesville. When he got to Temple, he noticed that there was a police cruiser following him. Eventually, the driver turned on the lights and pulled Seth over. Before he got out of the cruiser, he used his loud speaker to tell Seth to place his hands out of the window. By this time, Seth was freaked out so he did exactly what he was told. The officer approached the car and asked Seth who the owner of the car was. Seth said, "It's my Poppy's car!" (Who on Earth would know that Seth calls his grandfather, Poppy?!) Luckily, Seth corrected himself and said it was his grandfather's car. The officer asked Seth who his grandfather was and he told him. The officer then said, "My bad! Wrong car. You can go on your way." By the time Seth got to central station, he was able to laugh about the whole thing. We all find it pretty funny that Poppy has a thug car. 

Quilting My Break Away

Spring break usually means cleaning out closets, working on the yard, and maybe a family camping trip. This year our break didn't line up with my grandson's break and the granddaughters were going to Arizona on vacation. The hubby had just come back from an insane trip through Winter Storm Thor to Ohio with the boys to watch Ohio State host the Big 10 wrestling championship, so he had to work this week. That meant I could quilt all week long and not be disturbed. Whoop!!!! I finished 6 baby quilts; 3 are going to a co-worker who is having triplets!! (Better her than me!) The other 3 are going into the cedar chest in case another of my young and fertile co-workers decides to have a baby. Then, I finally finished Scott's quilt! I bought the main fabric for his quilt over a year ago. It is from the American Heroes line and it has firefighter and police badges on it. I started gathering the fabric for it over the next few months and got it cut apart during Christmas break. It is pieced, quilted, and trimmed now all I have to do is get it bound. That will probably take me forever because I HATE PUTTING ON BINDING!
Here are the pictures of the the finished products!

Fabric for Scott's quilt; American Heroes...

Scott's quilt finished except or the binding...

close up of the quilting...

back of Scott's quilt...

Three Yard Baby Quilt, number 1...

Three Yard Baby Quilt number 2

Three Yard Baby Quilt number 3

Three Yard Baby Quilt Number 1-B

Three Yard Baby Quilt number 2-B

Three Yard Baby Quilt number 3-B

This is the easiest baby quilt ever! You buy 1 yard each of 3 coordinating fabrics, cut them according to the directions, switch the fabrics around to come up with 3 different views. I have made so many baby quilts using this pattern!

This is the pattern I used for Scott's quilt. I added shashing and corner stones to give it a more finished look.

The pattern came from this book. It was one that belonged to my friend Barbara. Barbara passed away a few years ago from ovarian cancer. She used to tell me that if Scott was a little younger, she would definitely be interested in dating him! 

Our Private Tour of Fire Station #3...

Ron and I were out running the usual Saturday errands today, when we passed Fire Station #3. It is a little station about 4 blocks from our house here in Temple. 

 I happened to glance up at the parking lot and saw Scott's VW sitting there.

I said to Ron, "Is that Scott's car?  Is he working today?"  (We can't keep track of his work 24 hours, off 48 hours schedule.)  We agreed it was, because after all, how many silver VW bugs are there with a carved hummingbird hanging from the rear view mirror!  I told Ron that  we needed to bring back a gallon of ice cream back to the station when we were finished with our errands and on our way home.

Scott's helmet...

The fire department has a policy between the guys, that if you get your picture in the newspaper or are shown on TV you have to bring in ice cream for the guys on your next shift.  That happened to Scott during the first few months he worked for the TFD.  So, I figured it would be a nice surprise especially since it is so blasted hot outside!

Fire Station #3, Temple, Texas...

Anyway, we finished up our errands and stopped by to drop off the ice cream.  Lucky for us, Station 3 is the HAZMAT station, so they don't get a lot of calls for fires.  Just mostly cleaning up spills or answering 9-1-1 calls.  It was pretty quiet at the station so Scott got to show us all around.

  I didn't have my camera, and if it wasn't 107 degrees, I would go back and take pictures.  Be that as it may, I did find a few either in iPhoto or online that I can use.

But back to the tour; it was great!  We got to meet Scott's captain and the other firefighter on duty.  Then, Scott showed us the HAZMAT trucks and the regular engine.  The truck was unbelievable! Totally 

self-contained with anything anyone would ever need to clean up any crisis situation imaginable.  I told Scott that whoever designed it, must have been a genius.  He said they are pretty expensive and thought the price of the one we were looking at was around 1.5 mil.  The regular engine itself runs around $650,00.  

We also got to meet his captain, see the kitchen, the lounge, their bunk area, the gym, the picnic area, and the work area.  

What a great treat!

Yummy deliciousness!

We didn't stay long because we didn't want to be a bother, but I am sure glad we stopped.  Your Mommy is very, very proud of you Scott!

A fire fighter in the family...

About 7 months ago, Scott got back from a deployment to Iraq. He got back too late to start the semester so he had some time to spend with family and make some decisions about his career. He has always wanted to work with his hand, is interested in any form of science, and thrives on strange time schedules. He considered being a park ranger or a high school biology teacher so that he could use his free time for travel or building things. Unfortunately, between National Guard deployments and his ADD, Scott might be in school until he is 50. So, out of the blue he decides to give fire fighting a shot. He has already taken the initial exam and the physical aptitude test. This week, he had his interview with the Temple Fire Department. Now, if he passes the polygraph on Monday, he will spend 6 months in the Fire Academy. After that, he will report to the central fire station and work as a rover until he earns a spot at one of the crews assigned to a station. In honor of Scott's new adventure, I thought I would post about what I see as just a few of his many talents.

Scott loved living in Canyon, Texas. During one of our visits there, we spent some time in the Canyon. Scott has always enjoyed hiking. Between him and Ryan, hiking can be an educational experience (NERDS!).

Scott enjoys playing soccer and going snowboarding. He would prefer to live somewhere like Colorado, but I sure am glad he lives here.

Scott is a wonderful cook! His apple dumplings and bread bowls with beef stew are to die for!

Scott has inherited his grandfather's talent and is an artist with wood. He builds furniture, does remodeling, and is creating a masterpiece in Leslie's house.

Scott's years as an Army brat resulted in a young man who is patriotic. He has defended his country by serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He even marches in parades!

Scott believes in a minimalist wardrobe. Gray T-shirts and all purpose cargo pants or carpenters jeans. It has started to rub off on the other men of the family.

When our kids were little, we camped a lot. Scott now enjoys getting out for the occasional camping or fishing trip.

Scott collects state border pictures whenever he travels. I'm not quite sure how many he has now.

Scott creates unusual snow sculptures in the style of Calvin and Hobbs.

Scott has actually has grown fond of babies now that he has spent time with his beautiful nieces! But, he draws the line at changing diapers.

He has recently started geocaching when he isn't W.O.W.-ing.

Believe it or not, he actually reads the manuals when putting things together!

Right now, Scott's dream is to buy an RV and travel to Alaska.

And, most importantly, he puts up with hugs from his mom!

Congratulations, Scott!