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Third-generation Girard firefighter retires
By Sarah Lehr
GIRARD
Nathan Walker III earned the nickname “Bud” when he was a toddler underfoot at the Girard fire station.
When his father, Nathan Walker Jr., brought his son to work, he referred to the boy as his “buddy.”
The nickname stuck and Bud, now 61, is ready to retire after 43 years with the Girard Fire Department.
His last day Saturday marked the end of 85 years of continual service by his family. Walker is a third-generation Girard firefighter. His father, Nathan Walker Jr., worked there for decades and his grandfather, Nathan Walker I, was a fire chief in the 1930s.
The third Nathan Walker plans to spend his retirement working construction jobs on the side and taking road trips with his wife.
He says he’ll miss the camaraderie of the fire station, but not the 24-hour shifts.
Geographically, however, the fire station, at 105 E. Liberty St., will never be far from his sight.
Walker grew up on East Liberty Street, just blocks away from the fire station. As an adult, he bought a house across the street from his childhood home.
As a result, walking to work was a constant for Walker. Some things have changed, though, over his more than 40 years with the department.
Decades ago, firefighters lived part-time above the fire garage and they rode to calls on the truck’s tailboard. Nowadays, there are fewer fires and more medical calls for EMT assistance.
The worst types of calls, Walker said, are those involving children in danger.
“I look at it this way,” Walker said. “If I’m busy, somebody’s having a bad day. You spend a lot of time waiting around, and then you might get a call to pull someone out of a burning building. It’s sheer boredom to sheer excitement.”
It takes a certain temperament to be a firefighter, Walker acknowledged.
“You have to be able to see sort of the blood and guts of it,” Walker said. “You see it all with this job.”