Welcome to Fines Creek: newcomer-turned-firefighter is loving every minute of it

Yahoo

11-02-2025

Feb. 10—After less than 18 months with Fines Creek's Fire Department, new arrival Baylor Lopez has made an impact — enough that he was named its Firefighter of the Year for 2024.
"He's one of our top call runners. He has pretty much devoted most of his spare time to the fire department and its cause," said Fines Creek Fire Chief Marion Ferguson.
The 23-year-old said he was surprised to receive the honor, and gave him even more motivation to give the fire department his all in the weeks since.
"It was a huge deal to me," Lopez said. "I've wanted to play a bigger role in the community because of it. It put me in overdrive to be a bigger help and a bigger part in the community and for the community. I love those people."
Lopez is recognized as a volunteer who sees a problem and figures out a way to solve it. At one point, the water heater at the fire department went out. Before knowing if he could be reimbursed, Lopez went out and bought a new water heater.
"He's done that on several things," Ferguson said. "He's took it upon himself to get it because it was needed. If the fire department was able to pay him back that was fine, and if we weren't, that was fine, too."
Lopez moved to the Fines Creek community in the summer of 2023. The Arlington, Texas, native said he was looking for a "change of scenery."
"It's a very, very big difference, for sure," Lopez said. "It takes a lot longer to get anywhere. I live about 30 minutes from civilization. I enjoy being out in the middle of nowhere. It's a lot more peaceful."
Despite his lack of Haywood roots, Lopez said he was quickly welcomed to the community.
"They've been very kind to me, very welcoming," Lopez said.
Wanting to serve
Not long after getting settled, Lopez was ready to give back.
"I went (to the fire department) and introduced myself," Lopez said. "I had just moved out here and wanted to give back to the community because they've been so good to me. It's a very vital and viable way to give back to the community."
In the time since joining, Lopez has quickly become a crucial piece of the department.
"He's not been with us very long, but he has really latched onto the whole public service concept," Ferguson said. "He's stepped into the department and took off from there. He has been very proactive in seeking any and all kinds of training that he can get.
Training and serving
Lopez has received emergency medical technician training and is now in the fire academy at Haywood Community College.
"There are other classes I'd like to take in the future to expand what I can do for the community and the department," Lopez said.
Lopez's willingness is something that Ferguson praised.
"In a lot of ways, you can say that is everything," Ferguson said. "When you have a volunteer organization, it hinges on those people that are willing to jump in at any time for any reason."
Through the storm
Lopez's availability was vital during Hurricane/Tropical Storm Helene.
"When Hurricane Helene came through here and even recently through the bad weather and cold, he took it upon himself to stay at the fire department to be there for whatever needed to happen," Ferguson said. "Especially through the hurricane, that was huge in of itself. That was a huge asset."
Typically, most calls and work being done at the fire department happens during the day when people are active. That wasn't the case when Helene hit.
"Through the hurricane, that was a 24-hour-a-day ordeal," Ferguson said. "It didn't slow down much at night through all of that. People's needs were more than most of us have seen at any time. He was there to satisfy those needs."
Drawing him out
The chief said when Lopez first came to the department, the young firefighter was still feeling things out a bit.
"From my standpoint, his biggest challenge when he came into the fire department, he was really quiet. He was ready to do whatever, but he didn't jump into conversations to start with. We had to drag a lot of the conversation out of him," Ferguson said.
But Lopez has come out of his shell.
"He is a people person. He has a love for people and a desire to help people," Ferguson said. "He's a very versatile guy on a social level. He can interact and get along with anybody. With him, it doesn't matter the background. He can jump right in there and he enjoys jumping in there."
Those social skills have quickly blossomed into one of Lopez's most valuable qualities.
"He's there to do whatever needs to be done," Ferguson said. "That's not just on a physical workload. That includes those social interactions. If someone needs to talk, he's there to listen. He's an all-around guy."