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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Homewood Fire Chief Nick Hill in his office at Homewood City Hall on Nov. 9. Hill is retiring at the end of the year, following a 34-year career serving the Birmingham and Homewood area.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Homewood Fire Chief Nick Hill points out himself in a 1989 photograph with his graduating class from the Alabama State Fire College at Shelton State Community College, while in his office at Homewood City Hall.
For Nick Hill, it was love at first ride.
“My dad was a firefighter,” recalled Hill, chief of the Homewood Fire Department. “They used to have open houses, and they would take people for a ride on the fire truck. The first time I rode that fire truck, I was like, ‘This is it.’”
What was it about being a firefighter that so thoroughly captured the imagination of this boy, who would grow up to lead Homewood’s entire department?
“It was just the thrill of riding on the fire truck with the siren going and knowing that you’re going to help people,” he said. “I think I was in fourth or fifth grade [that] I actually won career day. I dressed up like a firefighter. I knew as much about the fire service then as I know now, just about.”
That’s saying something, considering what Hill knows about firefighting after more than three decades.
But his time leading the department is drawing to an end, as he’s announced that he is retiring at the end of 2023.
Mayor Patrick McClusky calls Hill a tremendous asset to the City of Homewood. He’s glad the chief can begin to enjoy his well-deserved retirement, but Hill will be greatly missed, he said.
“After Chief [John] Bresnan passed away, Chief Hill took over and has done an amazing job with our fire department,” McClusky said. “Under his leadership, new training standards were implemented, assuring that we were able to recruit and retain the best firefighters for our citizens. We all wish him the very best in retirement, and we hope that he and his family will continue to visit us here in Homewood.”
The retiring chief will have been with the department 34 years and 3 months on his scheduled final day, Dec. 31. Hill said his love of the profession was equal parts helping people and wanting to be like his father, for whom he was named.
And it wasn’t an office job.
“I was into sports, and I didn’t really want to sit behind a desk,” the 59-year-old recalled. “I was a little stir crazy.”
The fire chief remembers being a C student, not what he would call an academic scholar.
“I just didn’t want to be behind a desk,” he said. “It wasn’t intriguing to me. It wasn’t my calling.”
Hill’s path to firefighting took him through a period as a police officer in 1988. He calls that a fun job, one that he struggled to leave since he enjoyed the work and got along with his coworkers.
“I became a police officer because I needed a job,” he said. “It was actually more fun and more intriguing than I expected it to be. But, long term, that wasn’t my goal. My goal was always to be a firefighter.”
Across more than 30 years, no call truly stands out in the annals of Hill’s mind. Each has a place.
“Some calls are more prevalent in your mind than others: when you save a child with an EMS call, or you don’t save a child on an EMS call,” the chief said. “Those are both equally important for different reasons. One is very joyous, and one is very sad. But they both stick with you.
It’s a good job. I love it. I’ve just been doing it a long time, and now it’s time for me to let it go and let the younger group have it.
Nick Hill
“We’ve had some good calls, and we’ve made a lot of good saves that will make a difference, and sometimes it doesn’t work out well,” Hill said. “Sometimes it works out really well for the patient or the person whose house is on fire. Obviously, if you can save someone’s personal belongings, what their memories are made out of. Most people can rebuild a house, but you can’t rebuild a picture of your dad. You’ve got the shotgun your granddad gave you. You can’t buy that. It’s priceless.”
That’s the difference Hill has wanted to make, saving that which can’t be replaced by simply writing a check. That, he said, is really rewarding.
Hill said he’s had the high-drama experiences of rescuing someone who is teetering on an edge, or saving a vehicle that’s about to fall over an embankment. But his days are not the thrill-a-minute life depicted on television dramas.
“We don’t have that kind of busy schedule,” he said. “Those circumstances are rare. Most of the calls are little things. Most things go unnoticed. You take it as it comes and do your job.
“It’s a good job. I love it,” Hill continued. “I’ve just been doing it a long time, and now it’s time for me to let it go and let the younger group have it.”
The retiring chief has been married to his wife, Amy, for 21 years. They have three daughters, a grandson and a granddaughter.
