Bentonville Fire Captain Retires After Fulfilling Childhood Dream

Friday, December 20, 2013

BENTONVILLE — Fire Captain Tony Grimes always knew he wanted to be a firefighter.

“I didn’t want to just be a fireman,” he said. “I wanted to be a Bentonville fireman.”

After serving with the Fire Department for nearly 30 years, the 47-year-old Grimes will retire Sunday.

Grimes said he plans to slow down a bit and spend more time with his family, especially before his two sons ages 16 and 18 leave the house.

“I’ll be a little more like Mr. Mom,” he said, adding he’ll do more cooking and be able to attend more activities. He’ll also work at Arkansas Paramed Transfer in Rogers.

Grimes began his career as a part-time firefighter on June 19, 1984, three days after his 18th birthday.

At a Glance

Years Of Service

Bentonville Fire Captain Tony Grimes will retire on Sunday after nearly 30 years of service. He has the second highest seniority in the department. Battalion Chief Larry Horton has served 31 years. Fire Chief Brent Boydston has served 28 years. Battalion Chief Kevin Boydston has served 27 years. Battalion Chief Curtis Sharp has served 24 years.

Source: Staff Report

His family has deep roots in Bentonville. His father was a volunteer firefighter as well as the superintendent of the Electric Department, his mother served on the City Council for more than a dozen years, and his grandfather also worked for the city and built the 1935 Ford firetruck that sits in the lobby of Station No. 1 on 800 S.W. A St.

“I’m not a newbie to Bentonville,” Grimes said. “It’s my hometown and have taken pride that it is a great small town.”

In his three decade tenure, Grimes has seen the Fire Department grow from having one station and four people on a shift to five — and soon to be six — stations and 20 people per shift.

It’s a department that emphasizes customer service and wants everyone who needs its service to have a positive experience, Grimes said.

“Normally, when we show up, you’re having a bad day, and we just want to make your day as good as it can possibly get,” he said.

Grimes said the mayors and fire chiefs he’s worked for reinforce that mentality.

“We’re all one big Bentonville family, and family has to look out for family,” he said. “That’s what we want to do.”

The most rewarding aspect of his job was when people would come up to him, even when he was out of uniform, to thank him for the service he and his colleagues provided, Grimes said.

Firefighter Matt Perkins has worked with Grimes for 11 years and described him as selfless, dedicated and a veteran who was able to bridge the gap between ideals and traditions of experienced firefighters to the younger ones.

“He’s been a good role model for all of us,” Perkins said. “He’s always been the hardest worker. He instilled a sense of pride in this department.”

Battalion Chief Kevin Boydston started working with Grimes full time in March 1991 and volunteered with him prior to that.

“He’s the most loyal, dedicated person I know of to this city and this department,” Boydston said. “All the years I’ve known Tony and we’ve worked together, his first thought is always of this department.”

Boydston recalled a time when he and Grimes were part of a team that responded to a house fire about five or six years ago in January. The temperature was 26 degrees, and Grimes was supervising exterior work.

The house had heavy landscaping in the backyard, and Grimes fell into a koi pond. It was shallow, “but when you fall in, you fall in,” Boydston said.

Grimes got himself out and continued to work. It wasn’t until his clothes under his bunker gear started to freeze that he asked Boydston to use his gear.

“I was like we have to get that gear off of you, and you have to get warm,” Boydston recalled. “You can’t keep wet, frozen clothing on and do that job.”

Boydston and Perkins emphasized Grimes’ dedication to his work, making sure everything was always done the best it could be.

Grimes doesn’t consider his colleagues as co-workers, but as an extended family, he said, explaining work they did exposed them to a lot of “death and destruction” that is stressful but created a bond among them.

Grimes said he’s going to miss knowing what’s going on with the department.

“Not being here every third day is going to be hard,” he said. “I got to fulfill a childhood dream and work with the greatest guys in the world.”