EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is the 15th in a series of profiles that manninglive.com will be posting each week to highlight our first responders and dispatchers who keep Clarendon County a safe place to live. After each web posting, the piece will appear in the following Thursday’s Manning Times.
Travis Floyd currently serves as a lieutenant at Station 13 for the Clarendon County Fire Department. A graduate of East Clarendon High School, he attends Turbeville First Baptist Church and enjoys hunting and fishing in his spare time. He is married to Sydney Floyd, and the couple has two children, Travis Wade, 1, and Anna Bell Kate, 3.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A FIRST RESPONDER?
Seven years.
WHAT LED YOU TO BECOME A FIRST RESPONDER?
My brother, Jason, is also a first responder (firefighter), and I have always looked up to him and wanted to be a firefighter.
WHAT DO YOU FIND MOST REWARDING ABOUT YOUR WORK?
I enjoy seeing the people that we help and respond to being happy and making a difference in their days.
WHAT DO YOU FIND MOST CHALLENGING ABOUT YOUR WORK?
It is very challenging to get up in the middle of the night to answer calls, especially during severe weather.
WHAT IS YOUR STRONGEST ASSET IN BEING A FIRST RESPONDER?
I have a caring personality, and I love to help people.
HOW DO YOU PREPARE YOURSELF TO REMAIN CALM AND REACT EFFECTIVELY AT EMERGENCY SCENES?
I'm a calm person in general, and I know I have to remain calm to react effectively.
HOW DOES YOUR FAMILY COPE WITH YOU BEING GONE FR 24 AND 48 HOURS AT A TIME?
When I first started, it was rough on us, but as time has passed, we have adjusted to it well.
WHAT ARE SOME STRESSES A FIRST RESPONDER DEALS WITH
THAT MOST OF THE CIVILIAN PUBLIC WOULDN'T THINK OF?
We witness bad things and see people on their worst day a lot of times.
HOW DOES ONE DEAL WITH THOSE STRESSES?
I look at it as a job and focus on helping those in distress.
DO YOU THINK YOUR CHILDREN WILL FOLLOW IN YOUR FOOTSTEPS?
Yes. They love the fire service, and I hope they do follow in my footsteps.
IN YOUR OPINION AS A FIRST REPONDER, WHAT CAN PEOPLE
DO TO KEEP THEMSELVES SAFE AND NOT NEEDING YOUR SERVICES?
People should be more responsible and pay closer attention to what they are doing.
PREVIOUS SPOTLIGHTS:
EMS Asst. Supervisor Jeremy Evans
Sheriff's Office Victim's Advocate Kim Hill
Paramedic and Firefighter Crystal A. Miller
Firefighter Lawrence "Junior" Odom
Firefighter 1 Narongsak "S.J." Saengjunt
