Growing up in rural West Virginia, Benjamin M. Barksdale remembers hearing the siren blow from the neighboring fire station and asking his mother about the commotion.
Barksdale’s mother explained to him, then a boy of about 6, that the siren signaled volunteer firefighters would soon launch out of the station to help people in the community.
“I would like to do that,” Barksdale remembered thinking before eventually signing up to join the same fire department as a volunteer at 16. After more than 35 years in the fire service, Barksdale’s career took a new turn Tuesday as he became the fire chief in Prince George’s County.