BY MAGGIE BEAMGUARD
Insider Editor
Editor’s Note: This is the third and final article in a series introducing our local fire chiefs.
Many children get the exciting opportunity to climb into the cab of a fire engine. Few end up getting to drive that truck years later. West End Fire and Rescue Fire Chief, Erik Stromberg, did.
He joined the fire service through the junior volunteer program in Bethesda, Maryland. When a high school acquaintance drowned in the Potomac River, the local fire department came to the school to talk about water rescue and being safe around the water.
At the end of the talk, they asked if anyone was interested in becoming a volunteer. A number of Stromberg’s 16-year-old classmates picked up applications that day, including him.
Out of tragedy, heroes would be born.
The firehouse where he started working at age 16 was the same one he visited as a three-year-old child during an open house. There is a picture of him as a tot sitting in a fire engine.
Stromberg recognizes things could have gone a different way for his impressionable, testosterone-fueled teenage self.
“The fire department provided a really good base,” he said.
A strong mentor who was a captain at the department at the time, Jim Seavey Sr., made an outsized difference in Stromberg’s life.
“He was an incredible man,” said Stromberg. “He set all of the juniors on the right track. You couldn’t be at the firehouse if you didn’t have good grades, so he set up a good structure for us.”
Those high expectations had a way of shaping the young volunteers.
“Five of us joined different departments and three of us are still involved in the fire service today.”
Stromberg attended Elon University, where he studied public administration, political science. He also studied fire science at Guilford Technical Community College. After school, he returned to Maryland where he worked in the same department.
Stromberg had the unique experience of living at the firehouse for five years after college at the Cabin John Park fire station. To do that, you had to put in five nights a week and be able to run calls. It was a season of camaraderie.
Many of the guys he worked shoulder-to-shoulder with have had storied careers. One is the head of FEMA’s training. Another is the fire chief of a large county.
“It all started with Jim,” said Stromberg, whose 25 years at West End Fire and Rescue and 38 years in total fire service are no small accomplishments.
Stromberg moved to the Sandhills in 2000 after his father pursued a business opportunity here.
He joined West End Fire and Rescue and also worked with his father doing database systems. His father started a business that became the second largest golf handicap tournament management software in the country. Now he works at Renewal by Anderson.
But Stromberg’s passion comes alive at the station. For him, it is the kinship among firefighters that sustains him.
“There are people I still talk to, guys in Maryland that I haven’t seen in 20, 25 years. But we still communicate, and it’s like we never left.”
Those strong roots keep him grounded today in his role as fire chief.
West End Fire and Rescue houses seven full-time positions and a part time position 12 hours a day seven days a week that is filled by a pool of 10 to 12 people. There are an additional 38 volunteers, of which Stromberg is one.
The team he works with at West End benefits from his experience.
“My Deputy Chief is Tim Nichols. He grew up down the street here. He started as a volunteer and has been here almost 20 years,” he said. “Two of my three officers have been here three, four, five years. We have long standing relationships. We don’t have a lot of turnover.”
The challenge at small departments like West End, Seven Lakes and Eagle Springs is that the staff has to be able to do a little bit of everything. They have to be able to drive a truck, fight fire, render care or possibly take over command for short stints.
“They have to wear multiple hats,” he said. “So it’s a challenge to bring in a new firefighter right out of the academy unless they have already been involved in the fire service for a number of years.”
He lights up when talking about engaging with the public. The open house allows his team to interact with families. A recent program, the Santa Claus Express, has been a fun opportunity for community outreach. They take Santa for a ride on one of the engines through the neighborhoods.
“What is cool about that is you know the kids are going to be excited, but it’s when you see the 70 year olds jumping up and down and being kids, that’s special.”
But it is the big picture that is the most satisfying.
“Probably my favorite part of the job is just seeing the growth as a department. Knowing where we were when I got here 25 years ago, and feeling that we’ve accomplished something is rewarding.
“Our former chief set us up for success. His focus, even when we had limited funding, was personnel. You can have all the wonderful trucks and equipment and all that, but if you can’t get people to the scene you’ve got nothing.”
Of the three fire departments in the greater Seven Lakes/West End area, West End Fire and Rescue was the first to have any paid staff and now has the largest paid staff.
“What makes me proud is being able to help the citizens. It doesn’t matter whether it’s our West End Fire Department’s district or Seven Lakes or Eagle Springs, we don’t treat the calls any differently.”
West End Fire and Rescue also has a substation in Foxfire.
Stromberg takes the responsibilities of his job seriously, likely a result of the work ethic his mentor instilled in him.
He feels the weightiness of the mantle he carries for things like the ISO rating, which is the insurance rating for a fire department that gets reviewed about every five years. Because they aren’t alerted to when the review will happen, they have to stay on top of all training and documentation.
The rating impacts what homeowners pay in each district for insurance. When he started at West End 25 years ago, they had an ISO rating of class 9. They went from a 9 to a 6 and saved every homeowner about $300. “My goal every year is to do a little bit more to improve.” They now boast a class 3 rating. This is one case where a low score is a good thing.
The West End fire house was first located across N.C. 211 at the Shop N Save convenience store. With a hard look at the building you notice where the original engine bays were.
They’ve been at the current location since the early 80’s. They had a surface upgrade 10 years ago, but the station was never designed for 24-hour coverage. “We’ve met with multiple vendors. We’ve met with the county about potentially doing an expansion.”
They could potentially be looking at building a new station for the amount of money that would be needed for an expansion. It would be located in the field behind the current station, which could be repurposed, leased or sold.
Last year, West End Fire and rescue ran 1,100 calls.
“That’s almost three a day,” he said. “West end is famous for running back-to-back calls, occasionally within minutes of each other.”
It all keeps him busy. But it is work he is drawn to do. The tables have turned and now he finds himself in the seat of a mentor.
Stromberg’s son, Cooper, joined the department in September when he turned 16. When his son asked him what he needed to do to join the fire department, Stromberg said “I don’t know, I guess you’ll have to call the fire department.” It was important to have his son go through the whole process.
“I try not to give him any better opportunities than anybody else, but to hear our personnel here and when I hear from other chiefs of other fire departments that Cooper really helped out, that’s probably the highest praise I can get.”
Stromberg said he has a few more goals that he is keeping close to his chest but he recognizes West End Fire and Rescue has been very blessed with people and apparatus.
He attributes his internal drive to his grandfather who would “beat his rear,” if he didn’t work hard.
“I’m not one to sit in a chair,” he said.
When his feet hit the floor in the morning, he is propelled by the motto, “a few serving many.” There is a job to do. And he is ready.
Contact Maggie Beamguard at maggie@thepilot.com.
