Fire Engineer Nick Inglish started volunteering at 18-years-old with the Osage Fire Protection District in Cole County. Others encouraged him to make a career of it.
“I went to a year of college at Lynn tech and didn’t like what I was doing,” he said. “I found a program down in Rolla that offered fire and EMS, so I got my licensures in both and got hired here. It’s an eye opener whenever you’ve never really experienced any of this stuff. I always knew I loved helping people and trying to help however I can.”
Nick joined the Fulton Fire Department 17 years ago. Over the years, he’s become a source of humor within the department.
“You’ve got to have a good sense of humor in this line of work,” he said. “Just learning how to keep the job here and not take it home; try not to let things get to you too much whenever you see the bad stuff.”
The heart of the job, he said, comes from helping people.
“Whenever you’re inside a fire with all the dark smoke and everything, you have no clue what can be right in front of you. What you think is right in front of you may not be there – like the floor,” he said. “There’s a lot of practice you’ve got to do to lessen your chances of running into those situations and to get the best outcome for everybody.”
Outside of work, Nick has a fiancé, and the two are raising 10-year-old twins, which keeps them busy with sports and extra-curricular activities. He’s also worked at Jefferson City McDonald’s for 23 years and is working on his bachelor’s degree in finance.
“If something ever happened here and I couldn’t do fire service anymore, I’ve got something else to fall back on,” he said. “I like numbers. Finance and accounting, they seem to make good money, and it’s another way to help people by getting their credit back in line and assisting with loans. I still stick with helping people and making them laugh.”