Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory Chief Garrett Holderman moved to the Warsaw area from Arizona with 20 years of fire service experience. InkFreeNews photo by Liz Shepherd.

By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — After Sept. 11, 2001, Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory Chief Garrett Holderman knew he wanted to serve the community.

“I either wanted to be a fireman and do what those guys did, or be a soldier and go take care of some stuff,” said Holderman.

The 36-year-old was hired as WWFT’s chief in February, moving to Indiana from Arizona with 20 years of fire service experience. Holderman started out at the age of 13 through Rural Metro Fire Service’s Cadet program in Arizona and was hired by the department when he turned 18. He worked his way up the ranks, with positions as an engineer, captain, and battalion chief for Rural Metro Fire Service before moving to Indiana.

He and his wife, Laura, have been married for 15 years. They have two sons: Denver, 13; and Brayden, 10, who both attend Warsaw Community Schools and play football.

Outside of serving the community, Holderman enjoys camping, hunting and fishing.

“I’m a homebody, I enjoy every second that I’m at home,” said Holderman. “I like to hang out with the family, watch some movies and just relax.”

Currently, Holderman is finishing a bachelor’s degree in fire administration and possesses multiple leadership and fire officer certifications. He is also a certified national registry paramedic and intends to pursue a master’s degree as a fall-back.

“I always encourage people, at least with this, to have a backup plan,” said Holderman. “Because anything can happen at any point in time. I don’t mandate degrees but a fall-back plan is a smart idea. Firemen are human and they can get injured too.”

One local aspect of firefighting that Holderman is not accustomed to is volunteer fire departments.

“Arizona is 100% career (firefighting),” said Holderman. “We don’t have volunteers. The camaraderie in this county is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s very unique here. We rely on those guys just as much as they rely on us. It’s really important to maintain those relationships. There’s a very ‘warm heart’ feeling to this community. There’s a lot of history, there’s a lot of generational firefighting which I think is really awesome.”

Goals that Holderman has for the fire territory include continuing the success of WWFT’s C.A.R.E.S. program and focusing more on public safety awareness.

“School talks and community awareness and community reduction are obviously a big deal,” said Holderman. “There was a safety talk with kids (a couple years ago), and that night, unfortunately, one of the kids had a fire but remembered stuff from school and got his family out, saved his family’s life. That’s the kind of legacy that we want to leave for the next generation.”

Holderman described his job as gratifying and encourages those interested in becoming a firefighter to be willing to work hard.

“If you put in the work, it will be the greatest decision you’ll ever make in your life,” said Holderman. “You need to be teachable, you need to think like a leader, you gotta have heart. And you can lay down at night knowing that you did everything that you possibly could to help save lives.”