These days the 61-year-old Dr. Simpson is relegated to truck driver and pumper for the department and spends 2–3 hours per month in meetings and training. “I don't necessarily put on air packs and run into burning houses with hoses anymore,” he said. “That's okay. But to see the guys that are doing it now and to see how skilled they are and how confident they are … it's neat.”
His four children have grown up and left the area, but they “always thought it was neat that their dad was a fireman,” he remarked. “On the Fourth of July, they'd ride on the fire truck in the community parade because they were fireman's kids. My wife worries about me sometimes, like any fireman's spouse does, because you put yourself in harm's way occasionally.”
The greatest parallel between ob.gyn. and firefighting is that both professions provide an opportunity to achieve near-immediate results, Dr. Bobby Ridgeway said. Courtesy Dr. Bobby Ridgeway