Page 10 - InCommand Volume 30

Wife to a New Fire Chief
Karol Ortlieb
Author Bio
Karol Ortlieb is a loving mother who has been married to her hus- band, Dean, for 33 years. Karol and Dean have two children and one son- in-law. She dedicates her life to the well-being of their family. Although Karol is an empty nester, she and her husband stay busy spending time together, caring for their elderly parents, and spoiling their dog, Johnny Cash. Karol has worked hard to create a strong family, and enjoys any and every second that they get to spend with their adult children. Karol has embraced the life of being a wife to a firefighter, and has enjoyed walking along every step
in life with her husband and is very proud to be the wife of the City of Urbana's Fire Chief.
You most likely have heard the saying that the funny thing about firefighters is they are always firefighters. On or off duty, 24 hours
a day and seven days a week, they are still firefighters. I would add that they are problem solvers and get it done now people, that you can feel their presence and the intensity rise with them just coming into the room.
I have found this to be true with fire officers too, especially for my husband, who is now Fire Chief at the Urbana Fire Division. He eats and drinks the fire service with an all-in attitude when he commits to doing something. An added dimension for him is how predicable he is. Before taking the Urbana position, he had worked the same three jobs for over 30 years. Two of the three meals he eats are the same every day, and everything must be planned out. What this usually means is there is a spreadsheet of expenses and steps attached to every plan.
He often talked about being a fire chief, and he had an education plan and time frame to go with it. We wanted
to wait for our kids to be on their own and for us to be somewhat financially secure. He had put his hat in a couple of positions in his later years at Whitehall, but it just did not work out. When Urbana came around, it felt like a good fit. We went for it, and in a months’ time, he retired from his three current positions and our daughter was married two days before he started at Urbana.
For me, I was a little worried about how he would adjust to so much change in such a short amount of time. Also,
I knew he was an all-in guy, and I was wondering if he would ever have time for anything else. We had some good talks and planned on spending time together in Urbana after work by going out to eat and visiting the local shops. We also had plans of engaging together within the fire division and community, whenever we had a chance to do so.
Well, it has been a year since we developed our plan and things have not totally worked out how we thought
they would. In some ways, it feels like he went back to becoming a firefighter again. His 24/7 attitude about the job sometimes means for me cereal for dinner and cuddling up with our dog at night because he often is at late night meetings and I’m on my own. We drive separately to family functions in case he must go in, and he always has his division phone with him in case someone needs something.
Still, I have learned to adapt to this new world by both of us focusing on what is most important, which is always having each other’s back, and always being there for one another even with his long hours. It’s funny at times and it brings back memories of “the old days” when we were dating, and he was a volunteer firefighter. Many times, in those days, the tones would go off and he’d be running out - which meant canceled dates and time not spent as planned. It’s the same, once again, now as plans are canceled because he feels he needs to go in for a run.
Your situation may be a little different than mine, but the focus, I believe,
is still the same. My advice is to be prepared for some lifestyle changes and go into it with an open mind. There will be times when you feel like you’re two ships passing in the night. He’s a busy man, but he’s my man. I respect him, and I’m beyond proud of him. We’ve been together for 36 years, married for 33, and I’m so happy to be Mrs. Chief.
10 InCommand APRIL/MAY/JUNE 2020 • www.ohiofirechiefs.org