There’s nothing more important than service for Cornbelt Firefighter David Patten.
Patten, who has been named the 2018 Cornbelt Firefighter of the year, joined in 2016 after serving in the United States Marines.
“I served my country, so I thought why not serve my community as well,” Patten said.
Service is something that is ingrained in his family. His father and grandfather both served in the military and as he grew up, his father served on the Thomasboro Fire Department.
“I kind of followed his lead,” Patten said.
But the title of marine or firefighter is never handed out. Patten spent eight months in training to be a marine. He was then stationed in North Carolina, where he trained as a support unit and operated vehicles.
After four years, Patten fell off the back of one of the military trucks, fracturing his back and pinching nerves.
Married to his wife Jen Hermon, who grew up in Mahomet, the couple decided to relocate to the community she knew so well to raise their family.
Patten had to wait about a year after his arrival back to East Central Illinois to join the fire department, but once he did, he trained as a firefighter and EMT for about a year.
As of 2018, Patten has been part of the Cornbelt team for 2 1/2 years.
Patten said he finished his eight-year term, including Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), last month.
With three boys under the age of 6 at home and a job at Dig It, Patten has enough on his plate.
But, of the 1,114 calls into the Cornbelt Fire Department in 2018, Patten responded to 499.
“I don’t really ever think about it,” he said. “If I get a call and I’m available, I go up there and do it.”
Cornbelt Firefighters select a colleague each year to honor.
Patten said he realized he had been selected during the annual end-of-year dinner.
“It was a weird feeling,” he said. “I was surprised.
“I never think of it as am I doing enough? Am I doing too much? I’m just doing what we need to do.”
