The Roanoker - March/April 2015 - 28

FIREFIGHTER LARRY KNIGHTON
& EMT GEORGIA KNIGHTON,
BOTETOURT COUNTY

FIREFIGHTER LARRY KNIGHTON & EMT GEORGIA
KNIGHTON, BOTETOURT COUNTY
"Oh, I like it," smiles Tina when asked about her job.
"It's stressful!" She laughs when asked if that's a good or
bad thing, not quite sure how to express, both.
Because Eagle Rock is volunteer-operated, there is
never anyone officially on-duty. However, no one is offduty either. This makes operations at Eagle Rock less
structured but certainly not less capable. Darryl even
drives a fire truck to work at Gala Industries every day
allowing him to bypass the station to answer a call.
With an all-volunteer staff, there is always a
concern of a shortage of responders. But Darryl says
it hasn't happened yet. Despite this, he does recognize
challenges moving forward, namely keeping people
interested enough to serve at a smaller station and
endure the ever-increasing state and federal regulations
with regards to firefighting qualification.
The Johnses both admit to some drawbacks of
volunteer firefighting. There is the constant hum of
the radio scanner that Darryl insists having on 24/7
(even when there were babies in the house), and the
inconvenience of being called out during family time.
Darryl confesses that only once did he have reservations
about answering a call: the day of his daughter, Taylor's,
Jr. prom. He did answer the call and fortunately made
it back in time to see Taylor off.
"We're proud of him, and yes, it gets aggravating,
but he's helping families," says Tina with a humility
that doesn't recognize her part in helping families, too.
Besides, for Darryl, it's the volunteer aspect that has
kept him in for all these years. "I thought about taking
a paid position in Colorado Springs...If I got paid to
do it, I probably wouldn't want to do it." He looks at
Tina and they both chuckle, knowing just how true
this statement is.

When Larry and Georgia Knighton head out on a call
with the dispatcher's description of an "elderly person"
at the scene, they often find that they are older than
the elderly person they are assisting. The Knightons
warmly describe themselves as the adoptive parents
and grandparents to the rest of the volunteers at Eagle
Rock, referencing their ages in every way except exact
years.
Larry has been fighting fires for 31 years now.
Georgia has been an EMT for 25 years. Both were
the oldest students - mid-40's - in their respective
training classes. In January, they celebrated 50 years
of marriage.
Larry, a Covington native, says he can remember
receiving his first fire truck as a young tot. He was
always interested in firefighting but the opportunity
never presented itself, and if it did, he was too bashful
to pursue it. Instead, he worked as a machinist in
Newport News for 11 years out of high school,
Georgia joining him for seven of those after they
were married.
In 1972 the couple moved to Eagle Rock - near
Georgia's childhood home, Craig Creek - feeling like
they had exhausted all the big city had to offer and
ready to be near family. Larry still had his eye on
firefighting but his shy nature kept him hesitating.
"It took me several years to gain the confidence to
put my foot in the door," he says with a boyish grin
at his confession.
Unlike Larry, Georgia had not considered serving
as an EMT until she was faced with the boredom of
staying home after leaving her job in 1989 to help care
for aging parents. Word of Georgia's extra time got
out, and soon the area's rescue squad began asking
- then begging - her to consider becoming an EMT.
Like Larry, Georgia faced reservations about
learning alongside people much younger than herself,
as well as her ability to pass the training. But her desire
to stay active and the needs of the community won
out.
Now Larry and Georgia are an imbedded stabilizing
force at Eagle Rock. They talk of slowing down...but
not really. They love being a part of the community
and helping others in their deepest time of need.
"It's amazing to go up to a door on a call and the
person, who I don't really know, says to me, 'Oh
Georgia, I'm so glad you could come.' If I can give
someone that comfort on the way to the hospital, well
then..." Georgia's words trail off, but her humble awe
at how she and Larry have been able to love their
neighbors these many years, comes shining through.
I

The Roanoker - March/April 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Roanoker - March/April 2015