Most married couples figuratively put out fires together, whether it’s visiting a principal about one of their kids or baking cupcakes last minute the night before a school bake sale. In the case of Jeremy and Stephanie Ashby of Walton, though, they literally put out fires together. Both are on the Walton Fire Department. Jeremy is the fire chief, while Stephanie is a firefighter/EMT. Stephanie has worked for the City of Walton since 2012. There, she’s the city clerk and became an EMT for Walton in 2020 and a firefighter at one point. “She literally looked at me one day and said, ‘I want to do what you do,’” Jeremy said about his wife and firefighting. Both are volunteers. “Being a volunteer is like a second job sometimes,” Jeremy said. “It takes up a lot of extra time.” Stephanie also is the secretary/treasurer of the fire department. Jeremy said being an officer in the fire department takes a lot of extra hours. It’s also a challenge when firefighters have children. “We have a single dad, and if he has his kids, he might not be able to run a call,” Stephanie said. For his firefighter training, Jeremy went through the University of Kansas at Hutchinson Community College in 2003, and Stephanie got her Firefighter 1, which is a basic level. She also trained through Hutchinson Community College for her EMT designation and earned a 4.0 grade-point average. Jeremy has been with the Walton Fire Department since 2009. They’ve served alongside each other. “We’ve been at fires, just us two,” Stephanie said. “It’s a different dynamic. I have to acknowledge he’s the chief and I’m the subordinate. You’re not married when you walk in the door.” “And hopefully we’re married when we walk out,” Jeremy said, laughing.
Source: Harvey County Now
