By Sarah Vogelsong
CP Reporter
Taking a sweeping view of the roughly 30,000 fire departments that dot the United States, a person might easily think that they were separated by vast differences.
Not true, says Caroline Fire and Rescue Volunteer Deputy Chief Ricky Matiak—in most cases, for emergency personnel who switch from one to another, “the only thing that changes is the patch.”
Matiak would know. With 36 years in fire and rescue work under his belt and experience in three different counties, as well as the unique insight he’s gained through his work with the Central Virginia All Hazards Incident Management Team, a post-retirement job that has taken him all over the country, he’s seen a significant cross-section of departments across the United States.
At heart, though, he’s a Caroline County boy, born and raised.
“I’ve never lived on the east side of Jefferson Davis Highway,” he said.
The son of a mother from Caroline and a father from Wisconsin, Matiak grew up in the Ladysmith area and today resides in Lake Caroline. Since he was brought home from the hospital, all of his places of residence, he was quick to point out, have been within the same eight-mile radius.
Although his father was a volunteer firefighter with the Ladysmith Fire Department, Matiak’s passion for fire and rescue work sprang up independently, he said.
“I’m one of those individuals that have always wanted to do this ever since I was a child,” he said. “You are talking to the most blessed person on the face of the Earth.”
Chasing that dream, Matiak started volunteering with Ladysmith Rescue in 1978, at the age of 16, and two years later, he became a member of Ladysmith Fire as well.
Nor, as often happens with teenage dreams, did his interest wane. In 1982, he became a communications officer in Hanover County, and in 1984, he joined the career staff of the young Chesterfield Fire Department, where over the course of 27 years he rose to the rank of captain.
Even when he spent most of his waking hours in other localities, his devotion to Caroline never wavered. All told, Matiak stayed with Ladysmith Rescue for six years and with Ladysmith Fire until 2003, when the formation of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 4314, a union chapter made up of firefighters from Caroline and New Kent counties, forced him to step down from active duty for seven years because his full-time work with a different department that also had an active chapter conflicted with union regulations.
In April 2010, not long before his retirement from Chesterfield Fire, he returned to his roots when he was named Volunteer Deputy Chief with Caroline Fire and Rescue, a position he still holds today.
His primary responsibility in this role is to act as a liaison between career staff and volunteers—a key task for a combination volunteer and career department such as Caroline’s and one that has grown in importance over the years as both call volume and the amount of training required for emergency responders have increased.
Keeping everyone on the same page and aware of the end toward which they’re working facilitates the goal of keeping operations running smoothly.
“The job is public service and being there to help,” Matiak said. “If everybody focuses on that, it truly helps maintain that relationship.”
Over the years, Matiak has never stopped learning. One of his proudest accomplishments, he said, was earning his associate’s degree in fire science from J. Sergeant Reynolds Community College 27 years after his high school graduation.
“I value that piece of paper more than anything else,” he said.
His experience has given him special insight into the importance of education, which he said he tries to pass on to younger people in Caroline.
“Don’t do what I did,” he said. “Stay in that lane.”
Today, Matiak divides his time between three main callings: his job with Caroline Fire and Rescue; his involvement with County Line Baptist Church, of which he has been a member since age 12 and where he currently serves as a Sunday School teacher for the youth group, as well as running the mixing board; and his work with the Central Virginia All Hazard Incident Management Team.
He first got involved with CVAHIMT around the time of his retirement from Chesterfield Fire in 2011. This team draws police, emergency services personnel, and other responders from a number of localities in Central Virginia with the aim of providing support to other communities and agencies during major emergencies.
Most of Matiak’s deployments, he said, have been to wildfires in places like New Mexico and Montana, although he’s also been involved in such training exercises as a simulated plane crash at Governor’s Island, just off the southern tip of Manhattan. Recently, he was part of a team deployed to Charlottesville to help organize volunteers in the search for missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham.
Safety Tip
Matiak recommends that people be sure to prepare for emergencies ahead of time. Check to make sure the smoke detector is working, and practice exit drills in case of fire or other crisis.
“Don’t wait until the emergency arrives,” he said. “Be prepared before the event ever happens.”
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