- November 26, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
Mike Beadle wears a lot of hats. He’s part educator, part economist, part historian and, at times, part comedian. Those hats make him well suited as Palm Coast’s fire chief — a city that still remembers the wildfires that blazed through the area twice before. Beadle’s road to Palm Coast started in New Jersey.
At 18, his friend handed him an application to join the volunteer fire department in town. Although Beadle had his sights set on becoming a police officer, he didn’t mind volunteering in his spare time. Playing second act to a number a jobs, including working as a stagehand for theatrical plays, Beadle starting easing into what would become his career.
Escaping the unpredictable weather of New Jersey, Beadle sought stability in Palm Coast in 1988. Once arriving, he took up jobs as an exterminator and landscaper as he worked his way through school. Volunteering for the city’s fire department was still important to him, so Beadle began at a station that was undergoing a myriad of changes. Years passed, and Beadle found himself as a firefighters. Not long after, he was named fire chief. The rest is history. Recalling history, as it turns out, is pivotal to Beadle’s job. With the devastating fires of 1985 still hovering over the heads of residents of Palm Coast, Beadle remembers more terror in 1998.
"On July 2, Palm Coast became the No. 1 issue in the U.S.," Beadle said. "The fire was coming in, we were about to lose homes — we could get anything we needed at that point."
As the fire blazed, the county was deserted save for the firefighters and rescue teams. Beadle remembers the event like it was yesterday.
"This thing made its own fire storm, it made its own weather pattern," he recalls. "I saw lightning and thunder and rain coming out of this thing. It knocked us down in the middle of the street when it came through, it was 45 mph winds."
The fires roared for 66 days. Once the fires were extinguished, residents returned to the ashes left in its wake. The fires became one more reason why the residents desired to control its own destiny and incorporate as a city. Growth from that point was tremendous, and Beadle still must make sure every move the fire department makes is financially sound.
"The bottom line is dollars and cents," Beadle said. "We’re all about response time and getting people to your emergency effectively and efficiently."
Finances and efficiency are things Beadle takes seriously. Whenever a new developer comes to town, Beadle makes an appointment to discuss how the fire coverage areas will be impacted. More often than not, those discussions end with the developer fronting the cost for new equipment that is needed. The answer for Beadle is simple: If a multi-story building is planned, then the business should provide a multi-ladder truck to help fight fires. The city’s fire department now has a multi-ladder truck, Beadle said.
Having a mixture of career firefighters and volunteers saves money, Beadle said."We’ve got a great force and we save the taxpayers money by having the volunteers; otherwise, if you go to an all-paid department, it’s huge," Beadle said. "Your expenses are huge. We’ve got dedicated volunteers who are just as good as the career guys."
Rick Staly, president of the Rotary Club of Flagler County, recalls Beadle buying heavy duty trucks for the department with just a chassis and cab so he could bolt on paramedic compartments as needed instead of buying expensive rescue trucks, a move that saved about $100,000.
"He prepares for a city that’s growing," Staly said of Beadle.
Paramont for Beadle right now is growing with the technology. Learning how to use iPads, social networking and text messages may be helpful in fire safety for his team and for Palm Coast. For him, it’s all about education, which is a never-ending aspect of his job.
The main priority is learning from the mistakes that were made in the 1985 and 1998 fires and ensuring history doesn’t repeat itself. One program Beadle has in place is Fire Wise, a national program that provides courses and classes for residents on how to avoid fires and quick skills if one were to flare up. Community education is important to Beadle, not just fire safety, said Wendy Cullen, human resources director for Palm Coast. Beadle is an instructor at Flagler College.
"Not only does he teach, he has encouraged many city employees to look at furthering their education," Cullen said.
With all the hard work, Beadle admits having a sense of humor is important, especially given the dangerous nature of the job. Staly remembers a charity golf tournament in which Beadle was teaching Staly’s wife how to swing correctly. As Beadle tilted her head down as an example, she swung and hit Beadle in the face with the club. There was a lot of blood. The next year, Beadle showed up to the same golf tournament wearing full fire gear complete with a hard hat and goggles.
"Even though he deals with the serious side of life, he hasn’t forgotten there’s a fun and funny side of life also," Staly said.
