By Renee O’Quinn
Sikes brothers Donnie, Sr. and John are the root of 162 years of service. Donnie, Sr., his son, Donnie, Jr., and his son-in-law, Kerry Reese. John and his son, Danny, have a combined total of 162 years of service with the Baxley Fire Department.
Shown in photo l-r, front row, sitting, John Sikes and Donnie Sikes, Sr. Back row, standing, l-r, Danny Sikes, Kerry Reese and Donnie Sikes, Jr.
Sikes Family has 162 Years of Service
Donnie Sikes, Sr. retired with thirty-eight years and three months of service, which is the longest anyone has ever served as a firefighter with the department. Donnie, Sr. began fighting fires when he was only 15 years old. He always had a fascination with fire trucks when he was a little boy. When the fire whistle would blow he would run to the edge of the road to see which direction the fire truck was going. Donnie, Sr. served as Chief and Assistant Chief for the department at different times throughout his career. Donnie was married to the late Ruth Sikes and they have four children: Donnie Sikes, Jr., Cecelia (Kerry) Reese, David (Laury) Sikes, and Tempie (Jimmy) Anderson. He has eleven grandchildren and ten great grandchildren.
Donnie Sikes, Jr. retired this past October with thirty-seven years of service. He is a member of the Georgia Fighter’s Association, Fireman of the Year in 1976, attends First Baptist Church, and is currently employed with the U.S. Postal Service. During his career he fought major fires with the department such as the Gulf Oil Plant, Miles Tobacco Warehouse and Baxley Tire and Recapping. Donnie remembers at a young age going to fire drills with his father. He has two children: Dallas (Renee) Sikes and Robin (Les) Grimm. He has three grandchildren.
Kerry Reese retired from the Fire Department in 2006 with 23 years of service. He was serving as Captain at the time of his retirement. He received the Fireman of the Year award in 1986. Kerry previously worked as a Ranger 1 with the Georgia Forestry Commission. He is married to Cecelia Reese. They have two children: Amy and Lori (Josh) Brown and one grandchild.
John Sikes retired in 1989 with 34 years of service. He was Fireman of the Year in 1982. John also served has a radio dispatcher. He is married to Gladys Sikes and they have eight children: Susan (Melvin) Johnson, Sandra (Billy) Smith, Marie Hallman, Marilyn Jenkins, Connie (Kelly) Anderson, Carolyn (Corey) Griffin, Danny (Jeannie) Sikes, and Oscar Sikes. They have nineteen grandchildren and twenty-three great-grandchildren.
Danny Sikes is an active firefighter and currently serves as Assistant Fire Chief. He has thirty years of service on the department. Danny is also owner of Sikes Propane. He is married to Jeannie Sikes. They have one son Daniel (Grier) Sikes and two grandsons.
The job of a volunteer firefighter is a selfless job as they put their lives in danger to help protect the citizens against fires and other dangers.
Teamwork is crucial for firefighters as they depend on their crew to perform specific duties assigned by the Fire Chief. Boys often dream of becoming a firefighter. Wanting to be a firefighter for these men was not just a childish fantasy, it was something they all loved doing, showing dedication to their crew and putting everything they had in helping to put out fires and protect citizens.
Not everyone is cutout to be a firefighter. It is a dangerous job, to say the least. Firefighters must wear protective gear that is very heavy and hot. The worst part of their job is dealing with deaths and injuries to children. The firefighters are on call 24 – 7. Firefighters must go through a lot of training, as well as clean and maintain equipment and conduct practice drills. The type of calls they respond to include: brush/woods, commercial, residential and vehicle fires. Also calls for hazardous conditions, service, false alarms and mutual aid to county fire departments.
Today firefighters carry beepers to alert them of a fire. This hasn’t always been the case. Before using beepers, a big siren/whistle was used to alert the firefighters of a fire or emergency. The siren gave one blast for a brush fire, two blasts for a vehicle fire and three blasts for a house fire. Firefighters that lived outside of town could not hear the siren. The late Ruth Sikes would call each firefighter that lived outside of town to let them know there was a fire. “She did that for a long time,” said Donnie Sr.
John stated, “Years ago the fire trucks did not have pumps on them. They were used to haul hose to hook to fire hydrants to put out fires.”
Today, the Baxley Fire Department is ranked one of the highest in the state; having the finest equipment a volunteer fire department could have along with having one of the finest crews. “God has blessed us. I will truly miss the crew and all the good times we have shared,” said Donnie Jr.
Donnie Sikes, Jr. retired this past October with thirty-seven years of service. He is a member of the Georgia Fighter’s Association, Fireman of the Year in 1976, attends First Baptist Church, and is currently employed with the U.S. Postal Service. During his career he fought major fires with the department such as the Gulf Oil Plant, Miles Tobacco Warehouse and Baxley Tire and Recapping. Donnie remembers at a young age going to fire drills with his father. He has two children: Dallas (Renee) Sikes and Robin (Les) Grimm. He has three grandchildren.
Kerry Reese retired from the Fire Department in 2006 with 23 years of service. He was serving as Captain at the time of his retirement. He received the Fireman of the Year award in 1986. Kerry previously worked as a Ranger 1 with the Georgia Forestry Commission. He is married to Cecelia Reese. They have two children: Amy and Lori (Josh) Brown and one grandchild.
John Sikes retired in 1989 with 34 years of service. He was Fireman of the Year in 1982. John also served has a radio dispatcher. He is married to Gladys Sikes and they have eight children: Susan (Melvin) Johnson, Sandra (Billy) Smith, Marie Hallman, Marilyn Jenkins, Connie (Kelly) Anderson, Carolyn (Corey) Griffin, Danny (Jeannie) Sikes, and Oscar Sikes. They have nineteen grandchildren and twenty-three great-grandchildren.
Danny Sikes is an active firefighter and currently serves as Assistant Fire Chief. He has thirty years of service on the department. Danny is also owner of Sikes Propane. He is married to Jeannie Sikes. They have one son Daniel (Grier) Sikes and two grandsons.
The job of a volunteer firefighter is a selfless job as they put their lives in danger to help protect the citizens against fires and other dangers.
Teamwork is crucial for firefighters as they depend on their crew to perform specific duties assigned by the Fire Chief. Boys often dream of becoming a firefighter. Wanting to be a firefighter for these men was not just a childish fantasy, it was something they all loved doing, showing dedication to their crew and putting everything they had in helping to put out fires and protect citizens.
Not everyone is cutout to be a firefighter. It is a dangerous job, to say the least. Firefighters must wear protective gear that is very heavy and hot. The worst part of their job is dealing with deaths and injuries to children. The firefighters are on call 24 – 7. Firefighters must go through a lot of training, as well as clean and maintain equipment and conduct practice drills. The type of calls they respond to include: brush/woods, commercial, residential and vehicle fires. Also calls for hazardous conditions, service, false alarms and mutual aid to county fire departments.
Today firefighters carry beepers to alert them of a fire. This hasn’t always been the case. Before using beepers, a big siren/whistle was used to alert the firefighters of a fire or emergency. The siren gave one blast for a brush fire, two blasts for a vehicle fire and three blasts for a house fire. Firefighters that lived outside of town could not hear the siren. The late Ruth Sikes would call each firefighter that lived outside of town to let them know there was a fire. “She did that for a long time,” said Donnie Sr.
John stated, “Years ago the fire trucks did not have pumps on them. They were used to haul hose to hook to fire hydrants to put out fires.”
Today, the Baxley Fire Department is ranked one of the highest in the state; having the finest equipment a volunteer fire department could have along with having one of the finest crews. “God has blessed us. I will truly miss the crew and all the good times we have shared,” said Donnie Jr.
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