Patrick Draper is well aware that he’ll never get rich working as a firefighter.

And he’s okay with that.

“It’s kind of like someone who plays professional sports,” Pell City’s fire chief said.  “People look at athletes and say, ‘It must be nice to get paid for something you enjoy doing.’  Firefighting is the same.  I doesn’t pay that well, but if you have a desire to help the community and your fellow man — and most firefighters do — you’re going to enjoy the job.”

Draper took the helm of the local department in October and reflected this week on his initial months here.

About the PCFD:  “What really impressed me about this department is its wealth of experience.  The average experience of our firefighters here is 15 years or greater. That’s saying a lot, and it’s one thing I didn’t have to worry about coming in.  Our people know what they’re doing.”

His background:  Draper served as deputy chief of the Calera Fire Department and worked at the Tuscaloosa and Alabaster departments and the state fire college.  “Being at the fire college for the last three years, I believe my place is in a line firefighting organization rather than a training academy.”

The origins of a firefighter:  Draper was one of those kids who wanted to be a fireman when he grew up.  “My grandfather, Malcolm McFarland, was a firefighter in Birmingham from 1948 to 1982.  He’s 87 now and still doing well.  As a kid, I’d go by and see him at the fire station, and then I volunteered at a fire department while I was in high school.”  After a tour in the U.S. Marine Corps and attending the University of Alabama, “the opportunity presented itself to go to work at the Tuscaloosa Fire Department, which was a return to what I wanted to do at a young age.”

Advice to aspiring firefighters:  “Education is the key to advancement.  Take advantages of educational opportunities wherever possible.”

The biggest challenge facing fire departments:  “Funding.  Equipment costs for fire departments are 10 times more than other departments, like police.  A new fire engine costs between a quarter of a million and $400,000.  A brand new ladder truck can cost $1 million.  Sometimes we’re asked why we haven’t replaced our ladder truck yet.  That’s why.  The trouble with fire service is that everything costs so much.”

A recent windfall:  The PCFD has received a federal fire equipment grant of $69,000 that will be used to buy new equipment.  “Kudos to the current staff that was in place when I got here for writing that grant.  That’s really going to help us out.”

His family:  He and his wife Beth, a nurse, have three daughters, 16-year-old twins and a 15-year-old.  

In his leisure time:  A golf enthusiast, he’s also a University of Alabama football fan who wasn’t “terribly disappointed” with the team’s finish this season.  “It was another 10-win season, but you can’t win them all. Hats off to Auburn.”