Clayton Fire Department’s Meet Us Monthly Feature – November 2024
It is the first Monday of November, which means we are recognizing another valued member of our team during #MeetUsMonthly.
Joel Shanks, previously an engineer with the Clayton Fire Department, was recently promoted from Interim Captain to Captain. With four years of service, he now oversees personnel, conducts detailed fire truck inspections, manages station duties, and organizes additional training – all while actively responding to calls.
Born in Germany, Shanks shares his father was a Green Beret. After years of traveling, his father retires to Upstate New York and becomes a volunteer firefighter along with his two brothers. It only seems natural that Shanks follows in his family’s footsteps. After graduating high school, he gets into fire service at the age of 16. “It’s the adrenaline rush and the excitement of it… it’s the most unique job out there. You don’t know what you’re going to do from day to day. You never know what’s going to be thrown at you. It could be a slow day. It could be a really fast day, and I like the challenge of the job. It’s very rewarding.”
While volunteering off and on at six different departments over the course of 23 years, Shanks also works at a power plant. As a senior operations and maintenance technician for nearly 14 years, he increases his skill set by focusing on confined space and rope rescue.
Fast forward to 2018. Shanks and his family get tired of cold and long winters in the Northeast, so they relocate to North Carolina. He gets back into fire service at Thanksgiving Volunteer Fire Department before accepting a position with the Town of Clayton.
He says he treasures his job, especially with the community showing a lot of love and appreciation toward the fire department, and Shanks has an important reminder for residents when they see flashing lights on the road. “I know people don’t know which way we’re going, and if everyone would kind of stop and let us go by, it could possibly save someone’s life. Because seconds end up turning into minutes… if they would just let us go through, so we can do what we have to do, it helps us serve them better.”
When he’s not working, Shanks loves spending time with his wife and two kids. He also looks forward to yardwork, touting his lawn is as pristine as a golf course.
