FOUR RETIRING FROM FIRE DEPARTMENT

As Capt. Don Smith, a 38-year veteran of the Cape Girardeau Fire Department, said about the job: "It's a young man's game."

But with the retirement of Smith and firefighters Ron Poe and Jerry Emerson Aug. 30 and that of Capt. Frank Moore on Dec. 1, the department is losing 129 years of experience.

"It's an awful lot of experience and I hate to see that experience go out the door," said Fire Chief Robert Ridgeway.

In the nearly four decades of fighting fires, Smith has seen a great many changes.

"Way back the only thing to worry about was paper material and wood in a house fire," Smith, 60, said. "Now there are all kinds of chemicals involved in just a house fire and almost all are lethal without an air pack."

He added that people who die in fires rarely burn to death but instead are overcome by toxins.

To adapt to changing times, safety equipment and protective gear has become much more effective and available. When Poe, 57, joined the department 30 years ago, now common equipment was rare.

"They just started using air tanks when I started," said Poe. "It used to be if you couldn't stand the smoke you were not a firefighter."

But despite changes, the basic premise remains the same.

"It's the same old story -- put the wet stuff on the hot stuff," Poe said.

Uncertainty over exactly how to do that is common, however.

"Every fire is different -- you do not know what is going to happen until you get there," Poe said. "You can't actually plan nothing until you pull up and see what you've got."

But Emerson, age 55 and a 28-year veteran, added that it is also an exhilarating job.

"It's always exciting when the tone goes off in response to an emergency situation," Emerson said. "The adrenaline gets pumping as you respond to a residential fire or business fire or whatever it may be."

Moore, 53, with 32 years experience, recently read that firefighting is the second most stressful profession in America. The No. 1 job for stress is president of the United States.

"No doubt, it's a very dangerous job," said Moore. "You have always got to be looking out for each other and being cautious and working as a team."

All have stories to tell about harrowing situations in which they feared for life and limb. Smith was on hand last November when a wall collapsed on another firefighter, seriously injuring him.

"When the wall came down that probably was one of the deciding factors for me to even think about getting out," Smith said. "I've had a lot of close calls and some I didn't discover until after the fire."

An incident that stands out in Emerson's mind happened years ago while he was a dispatcher and received a call from two people whose house was on fire.

"The one I was talking to at the time died on the telephone," Emerson said, adding that the other person died as well.

As the four are all taking an early retirement incentive package offered by the city, they are making career changes rather than actually retiring.

Smith and his wife, Bea, are moving to Advance to open a gift and art shop.

"I'm looking forward to it," Smith said. "It's not really retiring, it's just a change of jobs. Instead of working for the city I'll be working for Bea Smith. It doesn't pay anything but the grub is good."

Moore and his wife, Betty, are moving to their farm in Cobden, Ill., to raise quarter horses for rodeo competition, something he has done part time for years.

Emerson will keep busy doing residential house repair, which he also did on the side while working for the fire department. He also plans to do some traveling with his wife, Doris.

"I know it will be nice not to have to get up on a cold day or a hot day and fight a fire, but I sure am going to miss the fellas," Emerson said.

Poe, who is working as an electrician while continuing to reside in Cape Girardeau with his wife, Carolyn, agrees that is the hardest thing about leaving.

"I don't so much miss the job as I miss the guys I work with," Poe said.

Due to the danger of the profession and the long hours spent together, a strong comradeship develops.

"You spend more time with fellow workers than with your own family," Emerson said. "You're with them for 24 hours straight and you get to where you actually know your fellow workers better than you know yourself."