Bobby Risk

I began my firefighting as a junior firefighter in Middletown, New Jersey. I graduated in 1997 from the Middletown Township Fire Academy, and became a member of the Middletown Township Fire Department, Station 11 Old Village Fire Company. In 2000 I moved to Beachwood, New Jersey and remained an active member in Middletown Fire Company. When I resigned from Old Village Fire Company, in 2001, I became a member of the Beachwood Volunteer Fire Department. I was born and raised in Beachwood until I was 13 years of age when my family relocated to Middletown. My Grandfather was also a fireman serving for the township of Beachwood. As a little boy I spent a lot of time at the Beachwood Firehouse with grandpa and the other firefighters. When I moved back to Beachwood, I was welcomed into the company by fellow firefighters who have known me since I was a little boy. I have been a firefighter for 6 years and a member of this company for 2. I am glad to call these men my fellow firefighters and my brothers.

I have always wanted to follow in grandpa’s footsteps and become a firefighter. Growing up, I went with my grandpa everywhere, especially to the firehouse. When the pager went off and the whistle blew, grandpa and I would jump on our bicycles and rush down to the firehouse. There I would watch him take his bunker gear out of his locker, throw on his jacket, pull up his bunker pants, and jump on to the fire truck. I would stand there and listen to the wailing sirens and watch them pull out of the bay, and think to myself one day that will be me. Now I am proud to say, when the pager goes off and the whistle blows, I jump into my car, drive down the street, take my bunkers out of my locker, throw them on, and jump onto the fire truck just like my grandpa.