(Enlarge) Chuck Cadden, the Maryland Rookie Fire Fighter of the Year, unleashes spray from a firehose July 2 outside the station on Southwestern Boulevard. The Rookie of the Year award not only honors Cadden, but gives Arbutus state bragging rights and a trophy that stays in the winner’s fire house for a year. (Staff photo by Drew Anthony Smith)

Of all the rookie firefighters at all the volunteer fire departments in the state, Chuck Cadden, of the Arbutus Volunteer Fire Department on Southwestern Boulevard, is the best.

That's according to the Maryland State Firemen's Association, which represents volunteer fire companies across the state.

The association named Cadden its C. Oskar Baker Rookie of the Year award June 15 during the association's annual convention.

The annual award, named in 2002 in honor of a longtime member of the Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company, honors the best rookie firefighter of 368 of the state's volunteer stations.

Cadden is the first Arbutus volunteer to win the award.

"We've submitted (names) through the years, but this is the first time we've hit the bull's-eye," said Capt. Douglas Simpkins, who heads the Arbutus force.

For Cadden, 18, who just graduated from Western School of Technology and Environmental Science's automotive program, it's the second "Rookie of the Year" nod he's received this year.

In February, he was named the Arbutus station's rookie of the year.

The 225-member station, which allows teens to start training at age 16 and maintains members into retirement, usually has about 15 to 20 rookies at a time.

Of that group, "there's always a front-runner who's way ahead of everyone else," said John McDowell, the department's president. "And this year was no exception."

Cadden received most of the votes, he said.

As is customary, Cadden's name and credentials were then forwarded to the state association.

Usually that's the end of the story, Simpkins said.

But not this year.

"This is your basic dream come true for a volunteer station," he said.

Simpkins said the award brings prestige to the station as well as the individual, as having a station member named the top rookie indicates top-notch training from his superiors.

"When we got (Cadden) he was totally green, and he has transformed into a seasoned firefighter," Simpkins said.

Winning the award means Cadden's name, and the station's, will forever be etched on the giant trophy that travels each year to the winner's station.

That first stop will be Arbutus, and when the trophy changes hands next year, the local station's name will travel with it, giving the station "bragging rights," Simpkins said.

"It makes me proud to have (Cadden) as part of my force," Simpkins said. "I can't think of a better guy to put on a pedestal."

One reason Cadden won the award is the amount of technical training he has received since he joined the station when he was 16.

The Francis Avenue resident has completed two fire training classes, a hazardous materials class and an EMT class, and is certified to go into burning buildings.

But such classroom credentials would mean nothing if not for his character, Simpkins said.

Being named the station's rookie of the year is a sign of respect and appreciation by the station's members, who range in age from teenagers to men in their 80s, said Simpkins, who has been at the station for almost 40 years.

His fellow firefighters see Cadden as a young firefighter who can handle tough situations and can also accept the house- cleaning duties often dumped on rookies, Simpkins said.

That type of attitude is important to the older members, he said.

Cadden said he joined the station after talking with Taka Hayakawa, a Japanese native studying at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, who had joined the Arbutus station to get EMT training.

Cadden met Hayakawa at the Halethorpe Community Church, where Cadden's dad, the Rev. Joe Cadden, is pastor and his mother, Anna Cadden, is an active member.

Cadden said he and his siblings, Joe and Sara, all grew up in the church.

Hayakawa told Cadden that if he was interested in EMT work that he should come by the fire station, and once he did he loved it, he said.

At first he wanted to stick to an EMT's role. He grew up with asthma, and didn't think firefighting was for him, he said.

But after taking his first firefighting course, he was hooked, he said.

He began spending as much time at the station as possible, staying over on Friday and Saturday nights -- the only nights members still in school are allowed to sleep in the fire house -- and serving as assistant duty crew officer on Saturdays.

"It wasn't just a place for him to go and goof off," his mother said. "He learned and grew."

Cadden said the station became like a second family to him.

Over time, he began going on active calls and participating in community events.

Once, during the Christmas season, those two sides collided.

Cadden was playing Santa Claus on a fire engine as it toured the community when the station got a call for a fire.

Still in a beard and red pants, Cadden was assigned the task of "leading off," or making sure the engine's hose remains secured to the closest fire hydrant as the engine navigates closer to the burning home.

He was later ribbed about hooking up the hose as Santa, but all in good fun, he said.

The experience reflects the balance in the fire house between camaraderie and duty, he said.

"Everyone jokes around, but at the drop of a hat everyone can be serious," Cadden said.

"And not just serious on a call (about a fire)," he said. "But serious if you ever need anything."

Simpkins said the Arbutus station prides itself on its diversity and on its training.

In addition to Hayakawa, the station has about a dozen international students from UMBC as members. All came to the station to advance in their respective fields, he said.

With that training, the younger members receive guidance on more than just emergency response issues, Simpkins said.

Cadden agreed.

"The station helped nudge me along to good decisions," he said. "And to avoid bad ones."

This fall, Cadden will be a freshman at Liberty University, where he hopes to study criminal justice in pursuit of a career doing "something in public service," he said.

While Arbutus will always be his home station, he wants to find a volunteer station near the school's Lynchburg, Va., campus where he can work during the semester, he said.

As the state's rookie fire fighter of the year, that shouldn't be too hard, Simpkins said.

"It's good to know we have people like (Cadden) waiting in the wings," he said. "It's a legacy that we pass down."

user comments (0)