Featured Photo by Jordan Reining
Story by Jordan Reining
In a battered, worn frame on the farthest wall of the station’s living room is a collection of patches representing a widespread community of firefighters. Resting above a polished table topped with sections of rope, the patch board shows the connections that come with the job.
Station 4, of the Murfreesboro Fire and Rescue Department proudly takes part in the patch trading tradition.
Many stations have their own patch design. They can represent a nickname of the station or a specific service a station specializes in.
Firefighters often find themselves at the local stations of their vacation destinations. Traveling for fun and family can lead them to a station tucked away in a small town or one overflowing with calls in a big, booming city.
Spending time at a new firehouse presents the opportunity for trading. Many firefighters bring patches with them in hopes of receiving one from wherever they end up.
Firefighter Josh Walker, a member of the rescue company at station 4, spoke about a recent visitor from a Boston department.
“We had one here recently, a firefighter retired from Boston, he was a firefighter for 40 something years,” Walker said. “He brought us a patch, we hung it on the wall.”
The trading extends far beyond patches and state lines. The same day the station received the Boston patch, they welcomed a police officer from Germany. She bestowed the station with a small, tan bear wearing a black uniform. The bear now rests with other gifts and awards above a row of cabinets in the kitchen, facing out toward the framed patches and rope across the room.
Rope segments can be found in the living area and the truck bay, where the members of station 4 spend the most time. Practicing knots throughout a shift is nothing new, as they first become accustomed to it at the academy.
When recruits first enter Murfreesboro’s fire academy, they are given a five-foot length of bright red rope. Throughout the training period, they have the rope on their person at all times.
They practice numerous types of knots, each with their own set purpose, though some are more practical than others.
Having their individual ropes with them allows for trainers to ambush them with a surprise knot test at any time.
“It instilled in us discipline and responsibility,” Walker said. “An instructor at any time could pop quiz [us] and we had to tie it.”
From figure 8’s to clove hitches, the recruits are expected to know it all.
The red rope that never leaves their side during the academy’s length has become a symbol during the graduation ceremony.
As recruits walk onto the stage, they come across a table holding two bells. Placing the knotted rope segments around a shining, silver bell, they are then able to ring its counterpart.
“I still have my rope from the academy,” Walker said.
The tradition has been around since the academy’s inception.
From trading patches to personal rope portions, the traditions that bind fire departments and the people that run them span stations, counties, and borders. As firefighters continue to pass these customs down, new generations will adopt them, rope in hand, adding on to their own future patch boards.
To contact Lifestyles Editor Destiny Mizell, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com, or follow us on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines or on X at @MTSUSidelines.
