By Staff Reports
July 10 will mark a change for Steve Allen, who on that day begins writing a new chapter.
After 25-years in public safety, including 14-years in Patrick County, Allen will step down from his post as Emergency Services Coordinator, effective July 9.
While many shy from change, Allen often runs to meet it.
Such was the case in 1996, when he was working as a machinist in Mount Airy, N.C.
Allen recalled that his then three-year-old daughter was injured in a fall.
Floyd Nunn and Norman “Cherokee” Bowman responded to his call for help.
“Mr. Nunn’s personality, his professionalism, and the way he calmed us down and followed up got me interested in emergency services,” Allen said, and recalled that Nunn inspired him to apply for the post.
Nunn, who had served in the post for six-years, died during a beach trip in 2003.
But “when Floyd Nunn was here, we were very good friends,” Allen said, and added Nunn “was one of the first full-time staff as far as emergency management that the county had. Just to see how he operated got me enthused at what it was all about.”
After starting as a volunteer, Allen earned his paramedic license in North Carolina. He worked for the City of Martinsville Fire Department and Regional One EMS in Patrick County in early 2000.
From there, “my career just took off,” he said. “It has been a wonderful experience, and I appreciate the opportunity to develop my organization, management skills, working with the volunteers, receiving grants, and organizing Patrick County Fire and EMS staff while in this position,” Allen said.
Allen listed the creation of Patrick County Fire and Rescue (Station 8) and the ability to provide timely service the county among the most memorable moments of his tenure.
The addition of career staff was “a huge step forward” for the county, Allen said. It also allowed “the career staff to back up to the volunteers” and thus better ensure timely help is provided.
“Last year, we (Station 8) assisted them (volunteer agencies) with a little over 1,000 calls,” Allen said, and added “that number is going up every year.”
Other standout events in his career include working on disasters that affected the county, and polling resources by “working with the local volunteers, and the local government, and the state partnership that came though that helped us with our disasters,” he said.
During his career, Allen received the Western Virginia EMS Regional Excellence in EMS Award and the Stanley Everett Crigger Humanitarian Award from the Virginia Emergency Management Association.
As he prepares to take his leave, Allen said he has grown accustomed to and will miss the unexpected calls that he’s answered for more than two decades.
“You get some calls and it’s a routine call, and then you get some of the calls that you really have to think outside the box and get outside resources to come in and stuff like that,” he said, adding that 2020 was particularly harrowing.
“We see all types of sickness and illness, especially since we had the pandemic. We saw all the citizens that were sick that we were having to transfer out, and the ones that have passed away due to the virus,” Allen said, and added that his career in public safety helped to mold him into a more caring and compassionate person.
His career will be recalled as “years I was able to help someone in their time of need and make a positive impact in people’s lives,” Allen said, and added he also will remember the friends he made throughout his career — from across the United States, from volunteers, career staff, and local, state, and federal governments.
Allen plans to pursue hobbies like wood and metalwork when he steps down, but he also doesn’t plan to stray far from serving and the public safety sector.
To help ensure there is no interruption in service, “I’m staying on part-time until they get someone in and help them get trained,” he said.
