Ron Conger is retiring from firefighting after 35 years, but leaves a legacy in his son, who is continuing his dad’s career as a firefighter.
Ron Conger’s daughter Erica, who also worked as an EMT before entering nursing school, and granddaughter Rachel were both burned in the fire, but have made a nearly full recovery, Ron said. The fire didn’t change his perspective of the job, but added a new layer of commitment from both he and Gideon.”
“I’d always had sympathy for the people involved in a fire,” Ron Conger said about the fire at his daughter’s apartment. “But now that sympathy runs deeper.”
“Every fire you feel like its your family in jeopardy,” Gideon Conger added. “When its really your family, it just hits closer to home.
Being a firefighter was a lifelong dream on Ron Conger’s and he idolized the profession as a child.
“I was always a fire truck chaser, even as a kid,” Ron Conger said. “I’d see the truck go by and follow them on my bike to see what was going on.”
Gideon said he had a similar fascination with firefighters in his youth.
“When Dad would have to run out, I’d be right behind him on my bike, seeing if I could help at the scene,” Gideon Conger said
Ron Conger said it was a desire to help others that drove him to the job.
“I’m out there helping people on probably the worst day of their life,” Ron Conger said. “It wasn’t about the adrenaline rush, it was the feeling of knowing I could make a difference.”
Finally at the age of 64, Ron said it was time to hang up the boots.
“It’s getting harder and harder for me to climb ladders,” Ron said. “It was just time to let the next generation take over.”
Ron said he has an enormous amount of pride that his son decided to follow in his footsteps.
“I’ve always been very proud that they were both firefighters,” said Pamela Conger, Ron’s wife and Gideon’s mother. “I’ve never once been afraid when they had to go out on a call.”
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