Barry Overman is retiring today from the Elizabeth City Fire Department — nearly 30 years to the day after he started.
It was Dec. 9, 1988, when Overman translated his interest in public safety and experience with the Weeksville Volunteer Fire Department into a job as a paid firefighter. After graduating from Northeastern High School and working for a year or so at local airship manufacturer TCOM, Overman became increasingly interested in public safety work and found the shift schedule of the fire department appealing because it would give him days off back to back to do other things.
“It just seemed like the kind of job I would enjoy doing because it’s something different every day,” he said.
Overman’s hunch turned out to be exactly right.
“Every hour and every day was something different,” Overman said. “I never got bored.”