New Fall City firefighter ready to help community

FALL CITY - Marcus Noble can't remember when he decided to be a firefighter, but thinks it must've been sometime in his youth.

While Noble can't pinpoint the exact moment he made that lifelong decision, he's excited to realize that dream as the newest addition the King County Fire Protection District 27 in Fall City.

"It's good to be here," he said. "It's a great crew."

After Noble graduated from Liberty High School in 1999, he enrolled as a volunteer for Eastside Fire and Rescue (EFR) District 10. He went to the EFR volunteer training academy that fall and then enrolled two years later in the Washington State Patrol Fire Training Academy near North Bend, where he graduated in Dec. 2001. That whole time, noble worked part-time for Home Depot and for the National Parks Service to make a living while he volunteered at the EFR station in Issaquah.

Noble remembers his first call as a volunteer. It was a couple days before Christmas and he was riding in a parade on the engine that was dolled up like a reindeer. A call came in about a gas leak and the engine took off when Noble wasn't quite ready.

"They lit it up [sounded the sirens] and I wasn't ready for it," he said. "All my gear almost fell off the back."

Noble stuck with it and was accepted to the Fall City station in August. While Noble admits there is a bit of boredom to battle when he is on duty, his days have been spent training and building up the relationships with the other men and women at the station. He said the friendships he builds at work are one of the reasons why he became a firefighter.

"The camaraderie is important," Noble said.

The only real fear Noble said he has at his job is if something were to happened to one of his fellow firefighters.

"Losing one of my buddies," he said. "That's what I fear."

For the complete story, pick up a copy of this week's Valley Record

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