By Brad Dountz
brad.dountz@salisburypost.com

Camden Ramsey never thought he’d end up here. Ramsey, 27, was just recognized as the 2022 North Carolina State Firefighter of the Year, but his journey to this commendation was not always set in stone, even from the very beginning.

Growing up in East Spencer in the early 2000s, Ramsey said it was not like how it is now.

“Police force was basically non-existent, crime was high, I mean a lot of us didn’t have direction. I was fortunate enough to grow up with mom, dad, siblings, pretty stable household. We had our head on straight, but we got into a lot of trouble, too,” Ramsey said.

Ramsey went on to attend North Rowan High School, then UNC Charlotte as a computer science major, but school life and the routine that came with it didn’t appeal to him for long.

“I was there for about two years until I got tired of the monotonous wake up, go to school, go to work to pay for college, the exact same thing every single day. So I said you know what, I’m going to join the military,” he said.

Ramsey, the first in his family to serve, joined the Air Force and was stationed in England. He also changed his studies to an EHS or Environment, Health, Safety degree under OSHA or Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Ramsey wished to work with the computers systems that the Air Force had. When given a job selection, Ramsey initially chose those that dealt with computers or as a linguist. However, the recruiter he met with, who was a firefighter, sent him in a different direction. The recruiter advised him that the jobs he wanted wouldn’t allow him to get started for another eight months, but when he mentioned that a fire job was available, Ramsey’s life changed.

“He sat me down in his office one day. Showed me pictures of his past trainings and all these specialized training schools he went to and I was like ‘I wanna do that,’ and it turned out to be a passion that I never even knew I had. None of my family was ever in fire service either,” he said.

What made Ramsey want to be a firefighter was what made him leave college to join the military.

“It’s something different every single day. There’s no monotony there, which was something I guess I’ve been trying to get away from ever since college, ever since my adult life which is that monotony. Every single day that I step in it’s something different and I can actually help people.”

Ramsey is now assistant fire marshal and fire investigator for the city of Concord. He does many safety inspections for businesses around the city as well as investigate the cause of fires. A big part of his job, he says, is public education for everyone from children to the elderly.

When Ramsey was awarded the North Carolina State Firefighter of the Year in Raleigh back in August, it was the culmination of all the hard work he had done the year before.

“The 2022 award was awarded for the work done between ’21 and ’22 and that was quite possibly the busiest year of my life,” Ramsey said.

Ramsey said on the military side of things, he had countless training courses, certifications, public education and volunteer work that he completed. On top of all that, he filled in as a logistics lead and helped find ways for the department to be more efficient.

Still, on the day of the convention, Ramsey was shocked that he won.

“Everyone but me knew and it was an absolute surprise. I was told that I was going to the convention because they wanted more of a Concord presence there,” Ramsey said. “To go up in front of 200 different fire chiefs, the state fire marshal, the Department of Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey, and be awarded that award, it was unreal.”

After working in the area for a number of years, Ramsey has seen firsthand the appreciation the community has had for him and the rest of the department.

“Everywhere we go, it could just be a southern thing as well, everyone thanks you. Everyone thanks you for what you do, everyone thanks you for your service and they’re just happy that we’re there,” Ramsey said.

Ramsey now has a fiancé with a baby on the way. Given all that he has accomplished, Ramsey still remembers where he came from and the people who are no longer with us that helped him get to where he is now.

“I don’t want the recognition, I just want the people back home to be proud.”