ROCKPORT – Greg and Levi Rollins are a father and son firefighting team at the Rockport Fire Department. Greg is a lieutenant with the department. They were born and raised in Rockport and currently reside there as neighbors. They own and operate Rollins and Sons Auto Body Inc., which is located next door to their homes.

Greg and Levi agreed that firefighting runs in the family. Levi started as a junior firefighter and before that was attending meetings with his dad while he was growing up. Greg has been with the department for almost 30 years. He admitted that he was not inclined right away to becoming a firefighter but Bruce Woodward (former Rockport Fire Chief) encouraged him to join the department.

Greg’s father and Levi’s grandfather, Scott, was a member of the Rockport Fire Department. Greg recalled the red phone that was in their house in the upstairs hallway. It would ring when someone reported a fire, the days before calling 911. The red phone rang in the homes of three firefighters, including that of Woodward’s, who was then the fire chief.

Greg said that the firefighter who answered first would set the alarm for the team to respond.

It has been more than a few years since the red-phone system has been silenced, and the shift to 911 and the Knox County Regional Communications Center has been established. Still, the immediate response to fires and emergencies is Rockport’s strong suit. The town’s firefighters are on the scene, no matter where in town, in a matter of minutes. And, they respond quickly surrounding towns when the calls for mutual aid assistance are received.

The most notable Rockport fire calls that both Levi and Greg remember include the fire on a Central Street in Rockport Village in 2007, when smoke and flames filled the upper floors of what is now the Shepherd Building. The fire was extinguished, but the building, an historic brick structure, posed its own unique challenges. 

What are the current challenges facing firefighters since many area fire departments are struggling with recruiting volunteers?

Levi said that there are challenges with recruiting new firefighters. The juniors often will go away to college and not return to the area. There is not any real money for younger recruits unless they are working in big city fire departments. Plus, younger people are busy with their jobs and families and it is hard for them to make the time with the current training and schooling requirements.

Greg and Levi both said that the Rockport Fire Department is a cohesive team, whose members work well together. There are no egos and everyone is trained equally and performs all duties, whether it is rolling hoses, directing traffic or fighting fires. Individual ranks do not matter within the department. Rockport is also a strong and active fire department and really gets to a scene quickly whether it is a fire or accident.

Greg especially complimented the department’s “interior crew,” which goes inside the burning structures. He said they have a good core of interior firefighters and they especially look after one another during fires. 

They both said that the town depends on the fire department to protect their property whether it is a fire or a flooded basement. Levi said there are many ‘unseens’ the department does behind the scenes with helping people in their homes.

Greg talked about the fire at his own home in May 2014, when the building was heavily damaged. He said that during that fire, the team was respectful and supportive, trying to save some of his personal belongings.

Although firefighters always try to preserve as much as possible when they fight a house fire, it made Greg Rollins even more appreciative of what firefighters instinctively do, as it was happening in this own home. This has given him a different outlook.

Sarah Shepherd can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com