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Dedication pays off for Greencastle's newest fireman

Thursday, August 8, 2024 at 2:48 PM

By Paul Gable

As a child, Mayhew said he always wanted to be a firefighter, however, it wasn't until he was a student at Cloverdale High School that the desire grew. 

There is an adage that the third time is the charm, and for Greencastle firefighter Scott Mayhew the adage rings very true. 

After spending 15 years as a volunteer at the Cloverdale Fire Department, Mayhew tried three times to get on with the Greencastle Fire Department before having success.

"It takes dedication and loyalty. Put your time out there for the training and not give up. The biggest thing is to stay with it. It took me 15 years to get to be paid firefighter. I almost gave up and glad I didn't. I have learned dedication. I never pursued it further because I didn't think I could do it. I've been through three different processes before I got hired and it is all about dedication and sticking it out," Mayhew told The Putnam County Post. 

As a child, Mayhew said he always wanted to be a firefighter, however, it wasn't until he was a student at Cloverdale High School that the desire grew. 

"I always wanted to be one. At Cloverdale, our assistant wrestling coach, Jarrad Hughes, was a volunteer at Cloverdale. At wrestling practice, his pager would go off and he would leave. My senior year of high school, my dad and I poured the concrete slab at Cloverdale Fire Station and after we got done doing that, they handed me an application and said turn this in. My senior year I got on at Cloverdale and spent 15 years with them. This is local, a hometown and this is what I always wanted to do was come here," Mayhew said. 

As for the transition from being a volunteer to a full-time firefighter, Mayhew said it hasn't been bad. 

"I am here for 24 hours instead of whenever the call comes in, I go, but it's not bad," he admitted. 

Afterall, he said the ability to help people outweighs the hours. 

"I like helping everyone out and it fit perfectly. I like being a role model for the little ones and that is the biggest reason I got into it. I want to be something for my younger siblings to look up to. I do this for my daughter more than anything. It lets people see that you can do something and help people out. My daughter keeps saying she wants to be a fireman," said Mayhew, who was also at Greencastle for two years as a part-time firefighter. 

One of the things he enjoys most is the training, noting it is "very important" to firefighters. 

"Training is important. No two incidents are the same. If you sit on a recliner, you aren't going to get used to it. Nice to have the training and have leadership keyed on what needs to happen," Mayhew said. 

With over a decade in fire service, Mayhew admits it is different than when he first got into the field. 

"We have a lot less help now than we did when I first got into it. It's hard to get people to volunteer their time and it is hard to get manpower in. You may only get one or two guys per run and when I started, everyone would show up," he said.

And, as he works through his probationary time at Greencastle, Mayhew does one have major goal he would like to accomplish.  

"I would like to put 603 back in the engineer spot. I would like to put Paul Hinton's spot back in. He was our engineer and I am a mechanic. I like working on things and that is where I want to be. I like driving but don't want to give up going into fires," Mayhew said. 

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