BY TRACY LEE TATE
Special to the Times
Union County currently has 12 firefighters, Fire Chief Mickey Foster, and one more volunteer in the intake process.
Foster has been a volunteer firefighter for 38 years. Originally from Waycross, GA., Foster graduated high school and went to work for CSX Railroad in 1974. In 1977, he began his firefighting career at the age of 20 as a volunteer with the Ware County Fire Department.
In 1982, he moved close to Atlanta with his railroad job and became a volunteer with the Pauly County, GA. Fire Department. He served as the City Fire Chief for Hiram in North Georgia during his long career. When he retired from CSX, after 41.5 years with the company, in 2015, he was a senior general foreman. He decided to settle in Union County because he had been here during his time with CSX and liked the area and people.
When asked his favorite memory, Foster recalls a night when he was still in Georgia, when he and his crew of volunteers helped deliver a baby. He is still in touch with the child’s family, who is now grown. The young man recently invited Foster to his wedding, and Foster said he was pleased to go.
Foster has been named a Firefighter of the Year three times, once in Union County. He said what made this recognition mean so much was that his fellow firefighters selected the awardee.
This recognition by his peers has gone beyond just an award—when the volunteers were asked to select a chief for the department, they chose Foster.
“This job is bigger than me,” Foster said, “but it is something I can do to help people.”
Since merging with Union County Emergency Medical Services, the fire department is now under the auspices of a single agency, Union County Fire and Rescue. All volunteers are trained first responders, and Foster is a Georgia-certified EMTI. They are required to respond to all calls for service that come through dispatch, including vehicle accidents and fires, general emergency calls, and, of course, any fire-related calls, such as house fires, brush fires, and others.
“We always answer when called; we never ignore one,” Foster said. “We are one big team dedicated to being there whenever citizens need us. We are here to help and assist in any way possible. We have even gotten cats out of trees.”
When the winds from Hurricane Debbie blew through the area a couple of weeks ago, the fire department was there. They worked alongside workers from the Union County Road Department, the Emergency Operations Center, the Union County Sheriff’s Office, and a K-9 Crew from RMC to deal with downed trees and power lines. In addition to this, they responded to 21 calls through the 911 call center. While that was an extremely busy day, the volunteers answered 382 calls in 2023 and, so far this year, 236.
Foster has been married to their wife, Deborah, for 25 years, and the couple has three grown children. Foster said he has full support of his volunteer activities at home, with his wife who understands who he is and what he needs to do.
“I have been so lucky in my career to have worked in so many good places,” Foster said. “Union County is no exception. It’s home, and all the people here are like one big family, and it is my job to see that they have the best service possible from our department.”
