Caleb Maddox grew up around fire stations. He’d watch his father, Captain Pat Maddox, and fellow firefighters load up the shiny, red trucks at the Muncie Fire Department. He’d watch them roll up unending hoses and slide down station poles. He’d tag along to community outreach events and help his dad check and install car seats.
Caleb was born into this life, but it became his calling. He has worked as a firefighter in Muncie for almost six years and was promoted to sergeant in September 2022.
“You need to have courage to step into a career that can kill you and to have courage to go into a burning building to find a trapped person,” said Caleb, who grew up in Daleville, Indiana. “You have to have courage to become a leader and better yourself and the department. You have to have courage to train new firefighters.”
Caleb is used to navigating known and unknown obstacles on the job. It helps to have watched his father manage people and situations during the last 30 years at the department. Caleb said he works to remain agile and creative when approaching challenges.
“Every day, you can see something new. You can see tragic events, and how are you going to respond to that? How are you going to handle that,” Caleb said. “With the diversity of the job and the different things you can run into, you have to be versatile in the way that you think and problem solve, because a lot of times it can be life or death.”
The crew trains for a range of potential crises between engagements in the community to spread fire prevention awareness. They are also a resource for people who are homeless, run into car trouble, get locked out of their houses — and of course — to retrieve cats in trees. Caleb said the department is committed to strengthening the trust and bond between the fire service and the community it protects. “We want to show that we are always here to help, he added.”
“Firefighters wear many hats. On top of responding to emergencies, providing fire protection and emergency medical services, we play a vital role in bringing our community together,” Caleb said. “It’s an opportunity to show the community what we represent as a whole — to serve, educate and protect communities, families and individuals.”
Caleb and Pat Maddox. Photo provided by Caleb Maddox.
Day to day
Much of Caleb’s work involves training for potential fires and emergencies. Each day, the 28-year-old and his colleagues arrive at the fire station at 7 a.m. for a 24-hour shift, which starts by checking trucks and inventory to ensure they have all the supplies they need. The crew might wash trucks, finalize paperwork or clean the station before training.
“We take pride in the training we do every single day to be prepared to provide the best care and support possible to the community in and outside of those emergencies,” Caleb said.
Each month, firefighters get a training schedule that dictates their focus each day. It’s a rotation of activities and education about fire suppression tactics, paramedic and EMT skills, emergency medical service, hose drags and extrication tactics. The team practices how to use ropes for rescues, how to operate the truck, and how to pump water from a fire hydrant.
Some days involve driving around Muncie to “pre-plan,” Caleb said. They study the best routes through the city to be able to quickly respond to an emergency. They ensure fire hydrants are available to access a reliable water supply. They also scope out new construction in the area to assess its risk.
“If there's a new building being built, we may go during the construction process to get an idea of what materials are being used and how the building's being laid out to give us an idea of what we could run into if we ever faced a fire or an emergency in that building,” Caleb explained.
A focus on physical fitness
Physical fitness is a big part of the job, Caleb said. The crew does a mix of cardio and weightlifting between training to maintain stamina and strength.
“Some of the emergencies we go on require huge physical demands, whether we're trying to knock down a door, climb a flight of stairs or carry someone down a ladder,” he explained.
His focus on physical fitness and passion for sports is calling him to enroll in a master’s degree in athletic training or business administration. “Whichever degree I decide to pursue, it will be geared more toward my role in coaching and athletics than my role as a firefighter,” he added.
Caleb is a “huge sports fan,” and aside from his full-time job at the Muncie Fire Department, he coaches several baseball teams. Since 2022, he has coached for the Indiana Prospects, a travel baseball organization for high school students. He serves as an assistant coach for the Frankton High School baseball team, and he will transition to the head varsity coach position before the next season.
Emergency calls
In addition to their rigorous training and station duties, firefighters answer emergency calls around the clock. Whether they are in the middle of a class, a workout or lunch, when they hear the bell, they stop what they are doing to assist the citizens of Muncie.
“Some people in the community may think that we just sit around the station and put out fires every now and then, and it’s not that way. Our department takes 18,000 emergency calls a year. We truly do save lives in those emergencies,” Caleb said.
When the calls come in, Caleb said, the crew is ready. Muscle memory takes over as they rely on the hours of training and reflection. Once alerted, Caleb said his crew is typically out of the station and en route in less than a minute.
The department gets calls for house fires and people experiencing overdoses, labor or cardiac arrest. Residents call when smoke detectors go off or malfunction, and they respond to car crashes and more.
“I've been on a fire call before where some of our guys rescued a couple of people from a house fire. We were able to get them to the hospital and provide the treatment they needed to survive the smoke inhalation,” Caleb said. “On the EMS side, I've been on calls where we've been able to provide cardiac arrest patients with the treatment to turn their health around. We were able to provide treatments that potentially save their lives.”
When they have a call that's difficult to handle, they will talk about it with each other to process their response and emotions. If it's a larger scale incident, they will get the entire shift together to debrief. “Sometimes you can see some tragic events that are pretty disturbing and hard to deal with, so we take debriefing seriously,” he said. “If we have a hard call, something that could be bothersome, we make a point to talk about it.”
Their department offers a peer support program. This gives firefighters the opportunity to talk with colleagues in a meaningful way, and to provide support to work through trauma.
Community involvement
The relationships they form aren’t only developed inside the station. “We’re involved in the community, and we do so much more than put out fires,” Caleb said.
Muncie firefighters regularly give safety presentations throughout the year, and especially during October's Fire Prevention Weekhurches and daycares about fire safety. They talk about the trucks and its tools, smoke detectors, cooking safety, electrical safety, and any other safe practices to avoid fires inside and outside the home.
“When giving presentations at schools we place a heavy emphasis on talking about fire safety and what kids should do to prevent a fire and what to do during a fire. We stress the importance of talking with parents to create a plan in case of a fire. Things such as how to get out of the house and where to meet,” Caleb said. “We stress the importance of not hiding in the house during a fire. We will put our full gear on so the kids can see what we will look like if we come to their house during a fire. We don’t want them to be scared of what we look like and try to hide from us.”
The department also shares fire safety tips on its social media pages. On and around the Fourth of July, the pages feature tips about fireworks. Leading up to Thanksgiving, socials will offer tips about deep-frying turkeys. We'll post about how you shouldn't do it in your garage, and you should go outside and open the area away,” he explained.
“We offer tips from how to install smoke detectors and how to regularly check them, create a plan for your family like how to get out of the house and where to meet once out of the house, avoid overloading electrical outlets, cook carefully and avoid leaving the room and keep kids away and never play with matches or lighters,” Caleb added.
Throughout the year, the department sponsors and volunteers with programs such as The Polar Plunge, Walk a Mile in My Shoes, Special Olympics and MDA Fill the Boot which is a state-wide program for muscular dystrophy and the department will collect money from citizens and also get donations from firefighters.
When the winter holidays roll around, the stations are alive with toy collections and outreach events. Last year, the department helped more than 1,000 kids and 300 families through Toys for Tots. Every Christmas Eve, Santa Claus rides a fire truck to Station 1 in downtown Muncie to meet and take pictures with kids.
“We’ll hang out around the station, eat snacks, and do bike giveaways and some other giveaways,” Caleb said. “Hundreds of families that come there for that event.”
During the Delaware County Fair, the department sets up a booth and passes out items and pamphlets related to fire prevention and safety. During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, firefighters wear pink T-shirts and donate to the IU-Ball Memorial Hospital Cancer Center.
“We’re first responders, so we respond to fire calls and medical emergency calls. But we're also involved in community engagement and community events, trying to be a source to bring the community together to bring good to the community,” he said. “I think that's what the fire service does for communities all over the place, just being involved in the communities, charities, events and programs and helping teach the community and kids about fire safety and prevention.”
Learn more about the Muncie Fire Department and its upcoming events at on Facebookand through muncie.in.gov.
