Family flame of service carries on

Published 1:18 am Saturday, February 6, 2016

The act of service to the community of Baldwin County is a flame that flickers brightly in the Lawrence family.

Clyde L. Lawrence Jr., 67, was the first black volunteer firefighter for Baldwin County.

He spent 27 years of his life in fire service, having worked at both Central State Hospital and Baldwin County Fire Rescue as a paid and volunteer firefighter.

“Clyde became a volunteer firefighter for us in April of 1987. Before then he was working as a career firefighter for CSH, but he is the first black firefighter we have on record that started with us,” said Baldwin Fire Chief Troy Reynolds.

Born Feb. 29, 1948, Lawrence missed seeing another leap year birthday by a few weeks.

In December of 2015, Lawrence passed away, leaving behind a multitude of family, friends, and fellow firefighters who remembered him for his dedication to serving the community.

Before passing, Lawrence got the chance to see his son, Clyde Lawrence III, 30, follow in his footsteps by graduating from BCFR’s 2015 Firefighter Recruitment course and becoming an official member of the fire rescue team.

He is posted at BCFR’s Station 7 in North Baldwin on Airport Road.

“My father influenced me a great deal. I wanted to be just like him,” he said, as he reflected on his reasons for becoming a firefighter.

Lawrence said he learned from his father the value of hard work.

His father began working as soon as he left school.

After graduating from J.F. Boddie High School in 1968 he went on to join the United States Marine Corps.

While in the Marines, he served in the Vietnam War.

After the war, he returned to Baldwin County, working at McGraw Enterprises and part time at CSH.

The next year, he joined the BCFR family as a volunteer firefighter.

“I can remember when I was little, on weekends when he was in charge, I used to get to hang out with him overnight at the fire station. And I always got to ride in the fire truck during the Christmas parade,” Lawrence said.

As he reminisced of his childhood, Lawrence said the main lesson he learned from his father was his willingness to work–no matter what.

“He was always willing to get up and go. Even when he got sick, he was always working on something. I always wanted to have that same hard work ethic and dedication when I became an adult.”

In fact, Lawrence demonstrated that same quality of hard work as a firefighter the day his father died.

“The day he passed we got a call at Pine Knoll and I went out on the call. The other firefighters looked at me and were like what are you doing here. Everyone at the house was asking me where I was going but my mama told them to leave me alone because that’s where my daddy would have wanted me to be,” Lawrence said.

Reynolds and the BCFR crew attended the funeral of Clyde L. Lawrence Jr. to pay tribute to his legacy in fire service and in Baldwin County.

His son says he will work hard to carry on the family tradition of exhibiting dedication to being a firefighter and serving the Baldwin County community.

“We know he’s got a passion for firefighting by his participation in the class and the work he does now. He’s wanted it for a long time, worked hard to get it and now he’s part of our family and we’re glad to have him,” Reynolds said.