MONTICELLO — Upon graduation from Monticello High in 1979, Sullivan County native Carl Houman did what many young men his age have always done: he joined the military, and served three years in the U.S. Army, receiving an honorable discharge.

Once back home in the Catskills, Houman would work various jobs, including a stint with the county Sheriff's Office.

All the while, though, the family business beckoned for Houman. And in time, he would come on board.

But the Houman “family business” was never of the traditional Sullivan County variety, rooted in agriculture; nor were the Houmans involved in the then winding down but still thriving tourism industry.

No, the Houman family business is one that involves danger, sacrifice and garners very little financial reward. The Houman family business is fighting fires.

“My grandfather Leonard was a firefighter here... my father Nicholas was as well, just a long history of family members - cousins, uncles and all kinds of other family who are firefighters,” said Houman, who retired last year after 33 years of total service with the Monticello Fire Department (MFD).

“It was really all I heard about and knew about growing up: firefighting,” offered Houman. “It was all anyone ever talked about in our household and I learned a lot about the field just at home... it was just natural for me to get involved when the time was right.”

Having spent his initial five years with the MFD as a volunteer, Houman went on to serve 28 years as one of few “career,” or paid, firefighters in the department - and indeed all of the county.

A past deputy chief, Houman retired as Monticello's director of Fire Services, a post which saw him serve essentially as a Department Chief Operations Officer (COO), watching over and having a word over just about every aspect of department business.

“It involves a wide spectrum of responsibility from alarm response to purchasing and more... from the mundane to the not so mundane and I can honestly say I enjoyed every day walking into those firehouses,” he said.

The Worst Day

Houman admits over the years to being emotionally impacted, even troubled by some of the things he's been exposed to on the job - that comes with the territory.

But one day stood out above all: “I've had quite a few bad experiences on the job over all these years but the one that stands out as the absolute worst, the one that still haunts me and I'm sure thousands of other men and women in this line of work is 9/11,” affirmed an emotional Houman. “I didn't lose any ‘family' to 9/11, but I did lose friends, and as a firefighter myself I feel like I lost 343 brothers that day,” referring to the casualties the FDNY suffered when the Twin Towers collapsed as firefighters were trying to save lives.

But since those horrific events, some good has come as the FDNY and MFD have cultivated quite a close relationship; with city firefighters often attending and even speaking at the annual 9/11 memorial ceremony at the MFD's Richardson Avenue headquarters.

“That close relationship with those guys developed through all the trainings a lot of our guys have gone through with some of their men,” explained Houman. “I also teach with a lot of those guys down there and it's been good for all of us. It's become something of an extended brotherhood of sorts.”

Looking back, ahead

Houman reflected on some of the safety advances in the field in his years fighting fires, offering, “We still lose more than 100 men a year nationwide... it's still a very very dangerous job, but there certainly have been lots of improvements and advances in equipment and training over the years. Shoot, that number would be a lot higher if not for those many advances. It makes an inherently dangerous job a bit safer because as a firefighter that equipment is your first line of defense, and therefore the most important to your safety. That's what's gonna save you.”

And though he'll no longer be out in the front lines fighting Sullivan County fires, Houman has no intention of leaving the field.

When asked about his plans for retirement, Houman - a New York State-certified fire instructor in Sullivan and Orange Counties since 1995 - quickly shoots back, “A lot of teaching. I don't intend on leaving the field any time soon.”

As for his advice for any youth considering following his path, for Houman it's quite simple: “Education education, education,” he said. “Get as much education as you can, become a volunteer somewhere and keep on training... doesn't matter if you've got 5, 33 like me, or 50 ­years in this field, you have to constantly keep educating yourself because it's a constantly changing field.”

All in all, though, Houman says he retires satisfied and confident that he gave his very best to protecting the people of Monticello and Sullivan County as a whole.

He concludes, “Every job has its ups and downs but serving the public is where it's at for me. It's what I believe in and what I believe I was meant to do. It's not something that you do for the money or the glory. It's just something that you truly have to love to do... and I can honestly say now that for 33 years I loved it with all my heart.”

C