Six. That’s the number of Fireman of the Year awards Floyd Thorn has earned as a 25-year veteran of the Tharptown Volunteer Fire Department, as he was named the Fireman of the Year for 2016.
Floyd earned the award again for his “nearly three decades of service, dedication, and loyalty, as well as the relentless pursuit of funding,” according to a TVFD press release.
After moving to the area from Ohio with his wife in 1990, Thorn joined up with the volunteer department in 1992. Thorn said the department caught his eye when he spotted something interesting while driving down the road.
“I was going over the hill and I saw this old fire truck and it had three women sitting on it,” he said. “I thought it was funny, I never saw anything like that before.”
Soon after that, someone approached Thorn about joining the department and he accepted. The rest is history.
Over the course of his long tenure at the volunteer department, Thorn has served in a number of capacities.
“I’ve done just about everything you can do, except be the captain. I’ve been the lieutenant and the assistant fire chief, but never been the captain,” he said. “When there’s fundraisers I help with those. I really just do anything I can to help because it’s something I enjoy.”
Over the years, there have been good times and bad, but Thorn is thankful for the good times. His favorite part is fighting the fires, but he also enjoys what the job gives him back.
“Really, I’ve enjoyed helping the community out and being involved with something important,” he said. “I like to talk to people. I like to meet people and I’ve made a lot of friends working at the fire department.”
After 25 years of service, Thorn is still proud to be a part of the department and says he has no intentions of hanging it up any time soon.
“I don’t get to help out as much as I used to, but I’m going to help them out all I can for as long as I can,” he said. “I guess I plan on being there until the good Lord tells me it’s time to stop.”
