By GAGE WILSON
Glasgow News 1
At a ball field in the early 1990s two men in the audience looked on as their children practiced for their upcoming youth league games. The men had become friends over the course of the season and began meeting up for games of their own, poker mainly. At one of these meetings one man had asked the other to join the volunteer fire department of Park City, obviously having a good eye for talent, because the man he asked ended up serving the department for more than 30 years.
Ronnie Stinson originally was a little hesitant to join. “I mean, with the kids and their sports and school I didn’t want to stretch myself too thin. Eventually though, I thought, ‘why not,’ if I could help someone that needed it then how could I say no.”
Stinson took to the role a bit slower then he was hoping. After a month, though, he had time to get his “feet wet.” Taking calls to rescue people from a burning home or a crash on the nearby interstate made the less glamorous parts of the job worth it.
Not all calls had happy endings. Almost immediately after being sworn in as chief, Stinson responded to a crash.
“It was about nine hours after I became chief,” he said. “The crash resulted in four fatalities, the youngest of those being an 18-month old.” Rather than wallow in the negative aspects of his position, Stinson used these incidents as reinforcement to become a truly inspiring leader for his firefighters, and the residents of Park City.
On July 1, Stinson accepted a full-time position with the Kentucky Fire Commission as an instructor and coordinator in the 10 counties of District 4. The new position has been met with the same enthusiasm as his time at Park City as he further educates himself and others.
“I’ll still be around,” he laughed while standing in Park City City Hall. “They can’t get rid of me that easy.”
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