Firefighter Spotlight
Firefighter Spotlight
Fire Inspector Darrell Fleming
Why did you join the Hendersonville Fire Department?
I joined the Hendersonville Fire Department on November 1, 1974
due to some encouragement from the Fire Chief at the time,
Carl Moore for whom I had previously worked for 4 years.
I love to learn and help people, so I knew this job would be perfect.
I immediately became interested in the medical field and was in
the process of receiving an Associates at VSCC in Pre-Med.
I enrolled in the EMT program and was Secretary of the
Sumner County Volunteer Ambulance Service the first
year in Hendersonville in January 1975. I became an
EMT in February 1975. The next year I was accepted
into the 480 hour Paramedic Program through UT
Nashville and graduated in October of 1976.
After 2 ˝ years as a Senior Firefighter/Paramedic, I left the
fire department to finish my Associates Degree at VSCC
and later transfer to Western Kentucky University in the
fall of 1977. I graduated in May 1980 with a Bachelors
Degree and returned in 1981 to work on my Masters degree in 1990.
What do you like most about the Hendersonville Fire Department?
The best part of this job is the opportunity to learn and
help people. This job requires you to know a little bit
about everything from construction work to alarm
systems. It is endless. I will say the guys and
girls in the office are some of the finest individuals
I have ever been associated with. We definitely
have a great group of people that are caring and
dedicated to their job. I can trust every one of them
with anything I have.
After 11 years of firefighting, I transferred from
fire suppression to fire prevention. For the last
15 years, I’ve done inspections in existing
businesses but the last 6 years have been doing
plans review for every new building being built
in Hendersonville. I enjoy working with the
building codes and planning department.
The city is lucky to have such a dedicated
and knowledgeable group of personnel.
What are your future plans?
My eligibility date for retirement is March 1, 2011.
I have built an old timey cabin near Dale Hollow Lake
and am building a log house on my farm in Hartsville.
Between the two “works in progress”, I just want to
“piddle”. I love working with old hand hewn timbers.
My daughter Malorie graduated from VSCC with
an Associates as a Medical Lab Technician. She (I hope)
will continue her studies and earn a Bachelors as a
Medical Technologist and has mentioned working at a
hospital in Orlando, Florida.
I have fallen in love with St. Augustine, Florida and
they do sell and build some nice cypress log homes
down there so you never know what the good Lord
has in store for you. Guess I’ll just follow his lead.
