Retired Bermuda Firefighter Working In Atlanta

Arthur Raynor [pictured left], a 31-year veteran Firefighter/EMT [retired] with the Bermuda Fire & Rescue Service, was recently appointed as the Senior Fire Safety Education Specialist with The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department [AFRD]. Mr. Raynor has long been known for his commitment to worthy causes, including his support of Bermuda Fire & Rescue’s breast cancer awareness efforts.

Mr. Raynor and his team members will be responsible for providing fire safety education services to schools, businesses, civic groups, and the general public in an effort to reduce the incidences of fire and increase the saving of lives and property.

Mr. Raynor said “Once I saw the online ad for the position a few months ago, with the requirements of having skills with building puppet theatres, working with robots and puppets, working with school children, operating a modern mobile smoke house, and teaching fire safety to adults, I knew I had to apply.

“The job description seemed tailor made just for me, having spent the last seven years of my Bermuda fire service career working with school children during the annual fire safety week with my Fire Prevention Week stage show utilizing my skills, talents, guitar, puppets, and more.”

Facing job-related questions from an interview panel of five board members from the AFRD, Mr. Raynor was the most successful candidate from among the others that had applied for the position. He will be kept busy educating children from the over 500 schools and colleges in the Atlanta area, including over 395 daycare schools alone, as well as 90 elementary, middle, and high schools.

A new challenge the job will bring to Mr. Raynor will be that of conducting seminars and offering counseling to juvenile fire-setters [child arsonists]. There is a Juvenile Fire Setters Counselor certification course offered that Mr. Raynor plans to take advantage of later this year.

Though he retired from The Bermuda Fire & Rescue Service 7 years ago, and relocated to Atlanta 5 years ago, he has stayed in touch with his fellow Bermuda firefighters and kept up with the latest changes, techniques and methods in the world of firefighting.

Under the leadership of Fire Chief Kelvin J. Cochran, the city of Atlanta Fire Department staff operates out of 35 fire stations, which include five stations at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. There are over 1,000 employees [988 sworn firefighters and 44 civilians] serving an area of 132 square miles within the city limits of Atlanta.

The fire department also provides mutual aid to neighboring cities and counties upon request. In 2012, the department responded to 96,890 calls [an average of 288 calls per day], including fire, medical emergency and non-emergency calls.”

Mr. Raynor added, “There are three types of people in the world: those that want things to happen, those that make things happen, and those that sit around and ask ‘what happened?’ I like to make things happen, so ‘never stop learning’ is a motto I live by.”

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