'This was my niche'

SUMMERVILLE — When the alarm tones sound at the Pine Ridge Fire Department, firefighters scramble for their protective gear and get ready for action.

John Lewis has no trouble finding his equipment: His boots are the only pair with an artificial leg sticking out of the top.

Lewis rushes over, pops his shortened right leg from a prosthetic limb and slides his knee into the socket of the one protruding from the boot. It saves time, gets him on the truck faster. He's there to help others, after all.

Lewis lost his right leg below the knee after a messy motorcycle crash 29 years ago. He doesn't look at it as a disability, just a challenge. Like becoming a firefighter at the age of 51.

As far as Lewis knows, he might be the only amputee firefighter in the state. But he doesn't want to be a novelty. He wants to fight fire. That's what drove him to excel in his basic training this year, finishing at the top of his class. "He really proved himself, and we consider him a great asset," Deputy Fire Chief Jeffery Thompson said. "His spirit is just excellent."

Around the station, they call him "Louie" or simply "Old Man." Having passed the half-century mark, Lewis is easily the oldest volunteer on the department's 42-man roster. The father of two grown children, he is a bit grizzled, with a paunch that crests his belt and more salt than pepper in his goatee. He has an easy way about

him, a willingness to do whatever task is presented, no matter how small.

He was introduced to the fire department through his neighbor, Will Hayes, who volunteered at Pine Ridge. Lewis watched with a bit of envy as Hayes dashed out the door on fire calls. He wanted to taste that adrenalin too. Lewis had wanted to be a firefighter ever since he was kid watching the shiny red trucks tear down the road, sirens pealing, on the way to a blaze.

Three years ago, Lewis opened his auto body shop, Precision Collision, in a building that once housed the Pine Ridge Fire Department. He had extra space, so he let the fire crews use his second floor for training sessions.

He'd sit up there and watch them drill, wishing he could be part of it. He also had a little fun with them. One time, as a firefighter with a blackened face mask groped for a practice dummy as part of a rescue exercise, Lewis slid his fake leg into the man's path.

"I think I've found him," the firefighter exclaimed, announcing that he could feel a leg. The man then realized the leg wasn't attached to anything. Everyone roared.

Lewis gradually became a fixture around the fire station, forming friendships and bonds. Hayes told him that he might as well become a firefighter if he was going to hang out around the station that much. Hayes, who is in the Coast Guard, had seen soldiers return to duty after losing limbs in combat. Why not Lewis?

"If they can fight on the front lines, Old Man sure as hell can put on bunker gear," Hayes said. "I knew he could do it. He's too hard-headed not to."

Lewis went back and forth on the matter, unsure if this was something he was cut out for at his age.

Those doubts disappeared on the night of June 18, when nine Charleston firefighters were killed battling an inferno at the Sofa Super Store in West Ashley. Among the men who died were Brandon Thompson and Michael French, who volunteered at Pine Ridge. Lewis counted both men as friends. Their pictures adorn his walls, and he sports a red tattoo of a Maltese Cross emblazoned with a 9 on the calf of his artificial leg.

Lewis decided to honor their memory by giving firefighting a try. He started riding along on fire calls with Hayes, learning how things were done, helping out where he could in a support capacity. He watched the pumps, rolled hose, whatever needed to be done.

Lewis began his formal training in February. He knew some guys harbored doubts about whether he could handle the physical demands of firefighting. This was a chance to prove himself. "I knew I had to smoke this course, and prove I could still hang with the younger guys."

Hayes worked with Lewis on weekends to get him ready. Over and over, they practiced challenging drills such as the leg lock, where a firefighter hooks a leg onto his ladder for support so he can work safely with his hands free. It took time, but Lewis got it.

Hayes was impressed with his neighbor's determination. He'd stop by Lewis' house and find him poring over manuals or hustling up and down stairs with an air pack on to get the feel of the equipment.

Lewis completed the 80-hour training course and traveled to Columbia in March to take the final tests. He had done so well in the course that many of his fellow trainees didn't realize he was missing a leg.

After weeks of waiting, Lewis finally received the test results. He had scored 94 out of 100, making him the top student in the class.

That didn't surprise former Michigan firefighter Dave Dunville, director of the Amputee Firefighters Association, an advocacy and support group with nearly 400 members. Many amputees are driven to prove themselves and overcome the misconceptions people have about their limitations, said Dunville, who lost part of his left leg in a line-of-duty fall.

"We need to stop seeing people as handicapped or not," he said. "What should be first and foremost is: Can you do the job?"

Lewis hasn't charged into any burning buildings yet, but he has manned the nozzle at brush fires and performed a host of other duties on the fire ground. Last week he traded in his red "probie" helmet for the shiny black model worn by regular firefighters.

"That was the icing on the cake for me," he said. "I like helping people. As soon as I started running calls, I knew this was my niche."

Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or gsmith@postandcourier.com.