Third generation of Joslings now answering to the fire bell
BY SCOTT STEPHENSON
The Joslings are, without doubt, one of the bravest families in Blyth. They’ve now been fighting fires in the area for three generations, which is certainly an achievement worthy of being immortalized as part of the public record.
Dianne Cook knew Paul Josling was a volunteer firefighter when she married him in the spring of 1976. She was well aware that the life of a firefighter’s wife is often punctuated by sudden exits, missed moments and sleepless nights, but she married him just the same. They moved into a little house in Blyth that Paul had built with his own two hands, and the young couple set about building a life together. Time and again, the shrill song of the town fire alarm sent Paul sprinting out the door towards danger. Eventually, he became Blyth’s Fire Chief. Dianne was proud, but she was also worried.
Paul Josling went on to serve for 37 years on the Blyth and District Fire Department and later the Fire Department of North Huron. He was also the Huron County Mutual Fire Aid Co-ordinator, the first board member of the Dave Mounsey Memorial Fund, a past-president of the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association. He was a Crime Stopper, a Master Mason, a Lion, a builder, and a great dad.
As their son Jeff got older, he decided that he wanted to follow his father on that sprint out the door, so he became a firefighter. He eventually had children of his own: Kyle, Jacob and Emily. Jacob decided that he wanted to follow his father on that sprint out the door, so he became a firefighter too. Emily is hoping to someday work in emergency services. Kyle pretty much grew up in the fire hall with Jacob and Emily, but he’s always been more interested in breakfast than backdrafts.
Jeff feels that growing up amidst the ever-present threat of potential emergency has made his family see the world just a little bit differently. “Most kids go bonkers over fire trucks and for me, and for my kids, they're just fire trucks,” he explained. “I grew up in the fire hall, I grew up with dad running out on calls - just being around it all the time. It's not a fascinating thing for us. It's just another thing.”
Somewhere along the way, Jeff found a kindred spirit in fellow firefighter Kelsy Long. Her father, Dave Long, was the Hensall Fire Station Chief until his well-deserved retirement a few years ago. “My dad joined the fire department like, a month after I was born,” she recalled. “I grew up going to parades and being around the fire hall… and having my dad run out on birthdays, and family Christmas and different things like that, and worrying about him, hearing the pager go off in the middle of the night; you’re always worrying about your family when they're out on calls.” Of course, that worry never quite extinguished her interest in her dad’s dangerous job. “Obviously, it influenced me enough that my brother and myself both became firefighters.”
Jeff pointed out how much has changed in the years between Paul’s first day as a firefighter and Jacob’s first day. “Technology has changed so much,” he said. “The fire trucks, the gear… everything has changed since I was a little guy seeing my dad run out in a petch coat and tall boots.”
Jacob remembers how it felt when he was just a little guy watching his dad disappear. “It’s definitely different. Growing up, you never really knew if dad was gonna be there or not, just because the calls. I grew up around the fire hall anyway, and as long as I've lived, I've always wanted to be part of it. It's a perspective I've got that no one else gets to have.”
Emily’s current dream job is working for ORNGE embarking on rescue missions, but she’s willing to consider any work that will help her to help others. She feels lucky to have grown up with the guidance of her fire-fighting family. “It’s really influenced my career path, I'm wanting to become a paramedic and a firefighter,” she said. “Just because I grew up looking at my dad and seeing him like, accomplishing big things and saving other people just really influenced me that way.”
She knows what it takes to be a great firefighter - she’s been around them all her life! She’s observed that you need more than just brute strength to get the job done. “You have to have thick skin,” she pointed out. “To see what happens, and then go home and take care of your family, like my dad did, you have to be strong that way - emotionally and physically.”
In Jeff’s opinion, it takes more than just fatherly inspiration to choose to go into the Josling family business. “You’ve got to have some screws loose to do what we do, for very little money. You have to want to help people. If you're not in it to do that, you're definitely not in it for the money because there's no money in it,” he explained. “It’s a physical job. I've always said, ‘it's the hardest job you'll ever love.” Because we all love it, and that's why we do it. It's to help people and it's pretty cool to ride in the big red fire truck, too. We’re kind of adrenaline junkies - like, it gets in your blood on your first call. You can't describe it any other way.”
Jacob can already feel the job changing him. “Within the last few months I’ve gone from never having to worry about anything, I'd run my car out of gas all the time, whatnot, right? But now that I'm in the department - it’s a little more important. You become more responsible, really quickly. I sleep differently. When I'm at work, I'm different. Everything about my life is different now, because I have this other responsibility that's always there. It could be five o'clock in the afternoon or five o'clock in the morning, or any time of day - I could get called out. And it doesn't matter if I'm really sore or if I'm in perfect shape, that responsibility is always there, right? It’s a proud feeling… it's good to know that at any time of the day, someone can call, and I can be there to try and help them,” he concluded sagely.
Dianne sees so much of her late husband in her courageous children and grandchildren. They’re dedicated, caring, smart, and just a little bit stubborn, just like him. “Paul would be so proud,” she said. “I'm sure he's just up there beaming - he would never have imagined this. And I am so proud! But also, I worry.”