Out of Office: Justin Kitzinger

We all try and find some of our passions in life, and I was able to find it in our local community. They had a need for more volunteers back when I joined in 2016. I definitely had an interest and knew what being a volunteer firefighter was all about, and I found my passion from there and it just grew.

We appreciate the support that we get from the community. We love working with kids, working Fire Safety Week and things like that. It’s always one of the most fun times of the year. We love the community support and we hope that people continue to support their local fire department.

There was an incident where somebody collapsed in the front entryway of our building. The benefit of my background is that I’m used to that scenario. I’m used to being the first one on the scene and assessing what’s going on. Thankfully, I was here that day and was able to help the individual and keep them stable [until] the paramedics arrived.

Whether it’s a client walking into my office or somebody walking up to the door of the fire station, it all starts with listening to what’s going on. It’s the same thing on a fire call. If you walk into somebody’s house and assume what’s going on, most of the time you’re probably going to be wrong, and it’s the same thing when a client walks in and has a loan or deposit need.—Megan Phillips