BENTONVILLE -- It was a serious motorcycle accident that inspired Fire Marshal James Birchfield to go into the firefighting service.
He was 17 years old when he hit a car in an intersection.
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Birchfield’s Career
Division Chief and Fire Marshal James Birchfield began his career with the Bentonville Fire Department in 1987 as part-time member. He became full time in 1991. In 2004, he became the assistant fire marshal and became fire marshal in 2010. He will retire Wednesday.
Source: Bentonville Fire Department
"I just remember seeing the sky, seeing the ground, seeing the sky, seeing the ground and thinking 'This is going to hurt,'" Birchfield recalled. "Boy, was I right."
The collision caused nine fractures, and the fuel cap shot through his right knee.
It was the conduct of two Springdale paramedics and the way they were able to mitigate the pain that inspired Birchfield to pursue that line of work, Birchfield said.
"Lying in the hospital thinking about how they helped me, I wanted to be able to help other people the same way," he said.
After 27 years and two months with the Bentonville Fire Department, Birchfield will retire Wednesday. The department held a party for him Friday where he received an engraved ax to honor his service.
Birchfield, who has been fire marshal since 2010, said he's going to miss going into burned buildings and figuring out what started the fires.
"Investigating fire, I put my heart and soul into that," he said.
Birchfield, 48, recalled when Bentonville's AQ Chicken burned July 19, 2004. He spent three days on the scene as the assistant fire marshal. The average time spent on scene is four to five hours, he said.
Memories of fatal fires also will stick in his mind, but he didn't elaborate on any. It's the part of the job his office tries to prevent, Birchfield said.
"Our job is to keep them sitting in the recliners," he said with a smile referring to firefighters.
Prevention is the word that sums up the Fire Marshal's office, said Brent Boydston, fire chief. The office consists of the fire marshal and assistant fire marshal.
They are the ones who make sure buildings under construction meet fire codes, structures are updated and schools are inspected. They also educate the public on fire safety and prevention, Boydston said.
What they do makes the firefighters' jobs easier, he said.
Boydston described Birchfield as dependable, "always there, always ready to go, always looking for more."
Birchfield "eats and sleeps Bentonville Fire Department," Boydston said. "Always has since day one."
Joe Wilson with Oelke Construction attended the celebration. He said Birchfield was "super strict" when it came to code enforcement.
"But in doing that, he was able to make sure that the public always had a safe place," Wilson said. "The proof is that we don't have a lot of things burning down."
Birchfield's strictness also helped Wilson to do well when building in other cities.
"I've already been tested by the best," Wilson said.
Birchfield will go to work for Walmart in fire code compliance. Boydston said Birchfield's successor has yet to be named.
NW News on 03/22/2014