Uncle inspired Dalton firefighter

As a small child, Chris Tallent loved nothing better than hanging out with his uncle Jeff, watching him work as a firefighter for the Dalton Fire Department. Every time Tallent slid down the pole or climbed up into the big fire engine, he thought, “Someday I’m gonna do this for real.”

But his hopes proved easier dreamed than reached.

From the start, Tallent felt drawn to the camaraderie of firefighters and the thrill of going out on a call. But after graduating from Southeast High School, he headed to Cumberland College to play football. It didn’t take long for the appeal of the gridiron to fizzle.

“I got burnt out on playing so I left school after a year,” said Tallent. “I started volunteering for the Whitfield County Fire Department. You had to be 21 to apply with the Dalton Fire Department.”

He worked for Dalton Beverage for three years, then transferred to Bradley Block Co. in Cleveland, Tenn., for two years — all the while faithfully vying for a spot with the DFD each time the department was opened to applicants. For three years the answer was “no.”

“At first it didn’t look like it was working out, so I made a career change, doing line work for Pike Electric for 12 to 14 months,” Tallent said. “But I didn’t give up. I knew (firefighting) was what I wanted to do so I kept applying.”

Finally, former fire chief Barry Gober said “yes” and Tallent was in.

His first fire with the department remains the one that sticks out in his mind the most, a trailer fire in Tunnel Hill which cost the resident his life.

“By the time we got there, the trailer was fully involved,” said Tallent. “You can’t really prepare yourself for something like that, but you have to expect it. We do what we can to prevent it but sometimes it just happens.”

Since then, he’s been lucky — everyone has either gotten out safely prior to the fire department’s arrival or they weren’t at home. Tallent says firefighters always check to be sure there’s no one inside.

“We focus first on putting the fire out, then comfort the family,” he said. “The Red Cross helps a lot, too, not only with the victims but they support us. They supply us with food, water, coffee, hot chocolate … It’s nice to have somebody there helping out with rehab. It helps us focus on the job.”

Firefighting is extremely strenuous, Tallent says. Training not only gets the firefighters in physical shape but pushes them mentally.

“When you think you can’t go any farther, you actually can,” he said.

Strengthening that mental toughness is the primary reason Tallent recently completed the Georgia Smoke Divers training course. According to www.georgiasmokediver.com, “This program condenses and replicates the extreme demands that may be placed on firefighters during multi-day operations such as catastrophic disasters and acts of terrorism.” The six-day, 60-hour course is not for the weak.

“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” said Tallent. “You do morning (physical training) which includes jumping jacks, pushups, mountain climbers, squat thrusts and cherry pickers — at 7 a.m. in full gear. Then that’s followed by an obstacle course with 16 stations of firefighter-oriented drills. Then you do a three-mile run. All that’s designed to wear you out. It makes you do firefighting when you’re tired.”

And it doesn’t end there. Participants are also put through 10 to 12 hours of firefighting drills, all on approximately five hours of sleep. Tallent says although the training was extremely intense, he never had a moment where he felt he couldn’t go on.

“It’s something you do for yourself,” he said. “It’s not required. You don’t get a pay raise. I wanted to do it for the self-gratification of completing the course. About half complete it. Out of our group of 28, 15 finished.”

The Dalton Fire Department currently boasts 18 smoke divers, something deputy fire chief Gary Baggett says gives the department an edge.

“This course (trains) firefighters to an elite level of performance and safety,” he said. “These firefighters (become) so proficient at advanced search techniques under extremely hot and smoky conditions it will become second nature.”

So what does Uncle Jeff — who has since retired — have to say about Tallent following in his footsteps?

“He’s proud of me,” said Tallent. “He’s a smoke diver, too, so he understands how tough it is and what it takes to complete it.”

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