Reminiscing with former fire chief Tim Rye: The best, the worst and the unforgettable

HAMILTON — After 36 years in the fire service, beginning as a volunteer in 1990, going full-time in 1996 and acting as fire chief since 2013, Tim Rye of Hamilton retired on March 1.
The Journal-Record sat down with Rye for an interview during his last week on the job. We spoke about his beginnings, the best parts, the worst parts, biggest accomplishments and big changes, plus a whole lot more.
“My first fire was around 1990,” Rye said. “It happened about six months after I began volunteering. We were still up at the old city hall where the police station is. That’s when everybody was in one building—the city hall offices, and the police and fire departments.
“The fire was on County Road 77. It was a single story house. It was probably about 6 or 7 o’clock at night. Daron Watson and I made my first interior attack together. It was a long time ago.”
Rye said they pulled the hose off the truck, put on air packs and went inside. They were able to stop the fire, which burned two bedrooms in the back. Because of their efforts, the living room, kitchen and the rest of the house were okay.  
Rye didn’t grow up wanting to be a firefighter, but his interest was sparked a little later in life by a childhood friend. After graduating from Hamilton High School in 1985, Rye went to an electronics school in Birmingham for two years.
“This was back when electronics was first kicking off,” he said. “I finished my courses, and I could have gone to Atlanta and gotten a job, but I didn’t want to do that.
“I came back home and got involved with the fire department. Sheriff Kevin Williams was a volunteer, and we’d grown up in the same neighborhood, with our backyards touching each other. I used to play ball with him and his brother, Wade, all the time.
“Kevin got me interested in it. And once I became a volunteer and saw everything it was all about, it was just all I wanted to do. I set my mind to it and ended up getting hired in 1996. And here we are today.”