By Kim Dunlap
Kokomo Tribune
GALVESTON, Ind. — Kevin Schutt is no stranger to the fire service.
The Galveston resident’s father was a firefighter, a few of his siblings were firefighters and even he was a cadet at a volunteer department in Indianapolis as a teenager.
From there, Schutt stayed connected to the profession throughout his life, often volunteering his service in places like Indian Heights and Amboy while working a full-time job at Chrysler (now Stellantis ).
“It’s in your blood,” the 58-year-old said. “Every time I’d see the firetrucks go out; I’d get goosebumps.”
And though Schutt said he thought about joining the Galveston Volunteer Fire Department several times when he first moved to the area 13 years ago, he never took that step.
But then came March 2023.
“I had the stomach flu and got dehydrated,” he told the Tribune earlier this week. “Then I fell down and hit my head. I remember I woke up with the dog licking me in the face and my wife screaming ‘What do we do?’”
Schutt’s added his heart also went into atrial fibrillation — an irregular heart rhythm — during the incident, a situation he had been in once before.
“So we called 911, and this one guy from the Galveston Volunteer Fire Department came out,” Schutt said. “And he said the ambulance was on the way.”
But that ambulance was coming from Logansport and was 20 minutes away, Schutt said, at a time when every second was critical.
That ambulance did arrive a few minutes later, and Schutt was ultimately brought back into normal heart rhythm by the time he arrived at Logansport Memorial Hospital.
And along with that incident giving Schutt a new lease on life, it also gave him a new purpose.
“I knew then and there that I was going to get my EMT certification,” he said.
Schutt even paid for the EMT test out of his own pocket.
And as soon as he got the results back, he went to GVFD to fill out an application.
“I knew I could make a difference and help,” he said. “I love helping people.”
Schutt is one of about five EMTs on staff at the GVFD, which sports about 32 firefighters in all, and he’s been volunteering there for about a year.
Zach Zimmerman is GVFD’s assistant chief, and he said he’s thankful Schutt made the decision to join the department.
He wishes more people would hear that calling too.
“It’s an opportunity to give back, but trying to find people that want to take that opportunity to give back is the struggle,” Zimmerman said, adding GVFD covers about 120 to 140 square miles and is essentially on call 24 hours a day.
According to state officials, 800 fire departments across Indiana rely on volunteer firefighters.
And because a person’s odds of getting a volunteer versus a paid firefighter is around 70-80%, especially in a rural area, that makes the need for volunteer firefighters critical.
“I think a common misconception of volunteer departments that we hear is ‘I can’t fight fire,’” Zimmerman said. “Well, can you help set up a town event? Can you sit at a desk and hand out smoke detectors? Are you a webmaster? I mean, there’s so many different things that people can do for this department.
“And without you, trucks may not go out,” Zimmerman added. “Or if someone needs help, without you, they may not get it in time. It’s us helping each other. It’s us helping the community.”
Schutt echoed Zimmerman’s sentiments.
“The tones go off, and I tell my wife I have to go,” he said. “I’m willing to do it as much as I can. And I’ll do it as long as I can too.”
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