Published: Dec. 11, 2018
West Bend firefighter reflects on 27-year career
By Nicholas Dettmann
ndettmann@conleynet.com 262-306-5043
WEST BEND — Already with a good-paying job,
Don Peil wasn’t looking for a change when he attended the Fireman’s Picnic in
1991 in Saukville.
Then he saw a group of people having a good
time. He stood there in awe.
“They look like a fun group of people,” Peil
said, referring to a crowd of firefighters.
“So, I said, ‘What’s it take to be a
firefighter?’” he asked.
He was handed an application and he filled it
out.
Twenty-seven years later, it’s a move he
hasn’t regretted.
Peil retired Dec. 1 from nearly two decades of
service with the West Bend Fire Department, culminating nearly 30 years in the
field.
“I absolutely loved the job,” Peil said.
Peil served with the West Bend Fire Department
since Jan. 3, 2000, after four years with the Kenosha
Fire Department. From 1991-96, he was a paid
on-call firefighter with the Saukville Fire Department.
Right away, after filling out the application
and got going with training, he discovered a new endeavor.
“I immediately fell in love with the fire
service, completely, and I have to do this for a living,” Peil said. “I said I
don’t care if I have to take a cut in pay. I have to do this for a living.”
It was a cut in pay from what he was doing —
an auto sales rep.
On the surface, walking away from a
good-paying job that didn’t risk his life wouldn’t seem like a good idea. Plus,
figure in the demanding hours and the high stresses of trying to manage
traumatic situations, being a firefighter just doesn’t appear to be all that
glamorous.
“You’re away from your family about a third of
the year,” Peil said.
However, his wife, Jill, said being a
firefighter was likely a bit safer than being an auto sales rep on Milwaukee’s
north side, specifically near 33rd and Burleigh.
Whatever the reason, being a firefighter
clicked for Peil.
“This is truly the greatest job you’ll ever
have,” Peil said. “You’re never going to get rich, but you’ll have job
security.”
When asked what may have been the confirmation
that this line of work was for him, he attributed an instant gratification of
knowing someone was helped.
“I got to make a difference in someone’s life
over the years,” Peil said. “When our phones are going off, people are having
the worst day of their life.”
He also liked the variety and the excitement
each day presented.
“You never knew what was going to happen five
minutes from now,” Peil said.
Chief Gerald Kudek said Peil is a great example
for the young firefighters and the ones inquiring about being one.
The last several years, fire department
staffing, specifically at volunteer stations, have been problematic. However,
data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show there is reason for optimism.
In 2016, the BLS reported more than 327,300 people
were employed as a firefighter. It predicted a 7-percent increase or about
24,000 by 2026.
In Wisconsin, more than 9,400 people are
firefighters.
But there is always a need for more.
Peil said, while the stresses and long hours
can be difficult, the job security and the pension are the positives. Also in
Peil’s case, he found a specialty.
Peil led the HAZMAT services with the
department and Kudek said having someone as dedicated and organized as Peil in
that spot was an asset.
Peil said when it comes to HAZMAT, more people
run away from it. Not him. He ran toward it.
“What I tell people that are students in class
that are looking into this, this is the greatest job in the world,” Peil said.
“I would never want to do anything different. You’re going to have a blast.
You’re going to see a lot of good things. You’re going to see a lot of bad
things. But in the end, you got to help people and somebody was willing to pay
me to do that.”
Since his retirement, Peil hasn’t really slowed
down. He is still connected to being a firefighter.
He still has an app on his smartphone that
shows who’s responding to calls and he teaches firefighting classes.
Eventually, Peil said he will start spending more time on same land he and his
wife have in northern Wisconsin.
Per tradition in the firefighter brotherhood,
when one retires, he or she gets a last ride inside a fire truck to their
house. He admitted it felt awfully weird to do that ride after doing about a
half-dozen himself
for others.
But, his colleagues, who spoke highly of their
partner, agreed it was a well-deserved ride and he will be missed.
“Don was very level, evenkeeled,” Kudek said.
“He was a strong, strong firefighter; good leader.”
One of the reasons he’ll be missed is his
humility, but also his organization, his leadership and his ability to be a
mentor. However, he will be missed for his sense of humor.
Peil is best known in the department for
several long-standings jokes or phrases. But the one that stands out the most
is his constant declaration of the greatest song ever written.
At seemingly every gathering of the
firefighters, whenever a song came on, Peil would frequently say “That’s the
greatest song ever written” even though he may have said that about a different
song some time earlier.
After doing that more than seemingly 1,000
times, the verdict came down: “Under Pressure” by Queen.
Why?
“It was the song that was on the radio when I
turned it on after getting the offer in Kenosha,” Peil said.
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