Passionate about fire prevention: 2022 Exemplary Public Servant Ray Melton

Two influential events brought Ray Melton into his current role as fire and life safety educator at Escambia County Fire and Rescue, a county with a population of about 300,000 people in the northwestern corner of Florida.

“My journey started at the age of five, actually. I was sick and stopped breathing. A firefighter saved my life. I’ve been chasing fire trucks ever since,” says Melton, 61. He joined the Army at 17 as a finance specialist, then transferred into a firefighting position when a slot became available—kicking off a 20-year career as a firefighter/EMT.

The second incident, which took place in 2016, sparked a passion for fire prevention. Early on a Thursday morning, neighbors in Pensacola, Fla., noticed smoke pouring from the home of a local family. The fire claimed the lives of four children—an 11-month-old girl, a 3-year-old girl and two boys, ages 5 and 11.

“I was sitting on the couch, watching the news. Four children passed away in Pensacola. That happened to be a preventable fire,” recalled Melton. The water heater was shorting out, he continued. “They called the landlord, and the landlord was going to send someone to fix it. But there was no tomorrow.”

The device arced, igniting the deadly fire.

“I couldn’t sit on the couch anymore,” Melton says. These days, he works to make sure there’s never another tragedy like that fire seven years ago. Fire prevention work might not be as glamorous firefighting duties, but it’s certainly just as important.

“If somebody can walk away from a fire and tell us, our smoke detector woke me up and I got out, bingo, right there. Life before property,” Melton says. “Our younger firefighters I don’t think have a grasp on how important fire prevention is. They do put life safety first, but I’m trying to show—even our firefighters—look, this is why this is important.”

Melton’s fire prevention work has reduced fire-related deaths in the county, according to Jon Williams, deputy fire chief for Escambia County Fire Rescue. For his passion for fire prevention and equitable commitment to the community, Melton has been selected as one of American City & County’s 2022 Exemplary Public Servants.

Broadly, his prevention-first mindset embodies a fundamental and ongoing evolution within the fire service from a reactionary mindset to one of prevention. There’s still a lot of work to be done. When he talks to people about fire prevention, most know the familiar adage ‘stop, drop, and roll’—not as many understand the danger of connecting together multiple power strips or letting house maintenance lapse.

“I’m seeing a better response from, not necessarily cities, but fire departments in general, in pushing more toward prevention,” Melton says, noting, “We have a long way to go in our county because politics are in the game.”

To that end, he’s implemented a number of effective and innovative fire prevention programs in Escambia County, such as the county’s Ready, Set, Go wildland urban interface education initiative. Every spring Melton partners with local forestry personnel to put on educational programming with urban communities that could be affected by wildfires. Along with the more traditional educational work at schools and various community gathering places, Melton goes door-to-door in high-risk areas.

“Five months ago, I started the home fire safety inspection program. I found six homes with serious issues, three of which had actively burning wires. That’s already paid for itself,” Melton says. “It started when a young lady nearly 90 years old called for a smoke detector.”

The program is notably different from other types of fire inspection initiatives, Melton says, as he doesn’t issue citations. This personalized approach to prevention plays a key role in mitigating hazards, because 62 percent of fires in Escambia County start in the kitchen with unattended cooking materials. Electrical fires are another major concern.

In his years with the county, Melton has also implemented a fire safety program for the county’s large homeless population. Risk among homeless populations is especially high, he says. 

“They put together wood structures out of plywood, or whatever. I’ll install a smoke detector in it just to alert them and give them one chance,” Melton says. “They build campfires too close, simply for the heat in cold weather, but don’t understand that the smoke, once it gets into where they sleep, produces carbon monoxide.”

Data from emergency calls and responses helps to focus his efforts. If there’s a spike in electrical malfunctions in a particular part of the region, he targets programming there. But in this age of digital-first interaction and sometimes disconnected communities, Melton says the human aspect is equally important.

“I will drive through areas, and if it looks like a high fire risk, I’ll reach out,” Melton says, noting he attends local events and partners with community organizations like adoption agencies and senior citizen organizations. It’s a passion that he doesn’t see waning any time soon.

“By no means can I fight fires any more, but I still get those adrenaline rushes,” Melton says. “I’m going to keep on doing what I do until I’m not breathing anymore. I love what I do.”