Vienna Volunteer Fire Department Lt. of Rescue Biff Brookover and firefighter Bradley Smith have been recognized as the Fire Officer and the Firefighter of the Year. (Photo by James Dobbs)

VIENNA –The Vienna Volunteer Fire Department has announced its Fire Officer and Firefighter of the Year, Lt. of Rescue Biff Brookover and Bradley Smith respectively.

Brookover joined the Vienna VFD in 2005, because he wanted to serve his community. He said his biggest influence in joining the department was Jim Thorn, a former fire chief in Vienna. Brookover grew up with Thorn’s son David, who followed in his father’s footsteps and became a deputy chief at the station. He said Thorn drove his desire to become a firefighter by taking him and David on firetruck rides as kids.

Brookover previously won the firefighter of the year award in 2006, the first year he was eligible, but it isn’t about the awards for him, it’s the reward of helping others.

Brookover took over as the lieutenant of rescue two years ago and has greatly improved training efforts, said Smith, one of Brookover’s trainees.

“He’s strict on what he wants you to know, but it’s only for the betterment of yourself and the ones around you,” he said. “In the end, this job can kill you … so your training is everything.”

Smith said Brookover is one of his biggest role models in the department, and that he is a front-of-the-line, take-charge kind of guy, who takes initiative and leaves a footprint for others to follow.

Smith has been at the station for over eight years, and attributes his father’s enthusiasm for firefighting to why he joined. Growing up, his dad, Harold, introduced firefighting to him by telling him stories of his time as a firefighter at the Blennerhassett Volunteer Fire Department in Washington. He had also been fascinated with firetrucks as a kid, playing with them up until middle school.

“I always knew that when he was talking about it and the excitement he still had telling those stories, it was something that I wanted to pursue,” he said.

Brookover said one of the hardest parts of the job is spending time away from his family, “Wives pay the ultimate price.”

“The family outside of the department, like he said, they’re the ones who pay the price, between training calls, extra details and meetings, we’re gone sometimes more than we’re home,” added Smith.

Brookover said the second hardest part of the job is the lack of firefighters.

“The fire service is not gaining firemen as quick as they’re losing them,” Brookover said. “Nobody’s joining and people are retiring.”

He said Fire Chief Steve Scholl is available to talk to anyone who wants to join and can be reached at the fire station at 304-295-5652.

For those wanting to pursue a career in firefighting, Smith said, “take that step and fill out an application at your local fire department, you won’t regret it.”

“Helping people, being in that truck, listening to sirens, going to a call knowing you’re going to help somebody, it really is a good feeling,” said Smith.

Brookover is a Vienna native who graduated from Parkersburg High School in 1999. When he isn’t fighting fires, he is a salesman with FleetPride. He also enjoys spending time with his wife, Holly, daughter, Mikayla, and racing cars in Lubeck. He races on the local dirt track on the weekends and has done so for 15 years. He is the owner and driver for Straybullet Motorsports.

Smith was born in Parkersburg and graduated from PHS in 2011, during which he did training at the Caperton Center for Applied Technology Center under Jim Reynolds, a retired captain from the Parkersburg Fire Department. When he’s not at the station, he runs a home delivery service called CJ Squared. He has a fiancee, Elizabeth, who he has been with for 11 years. They have two kids together, Owen and Connor.

James Dobbs can be reached at jdobbs@newsandsentinel.com