By JONATHAN CRIBBS
July 13, 2005

ROANOKE, Va. — When Lt. Rodney Jordan started working at Fire Station No. 1 on Church Avenue downtown about two years ago, he expected some of the routines and regimens that come with working in the state’s oldest operation firehouse — washing the floors once a week, cleaning the kitchen, polishing brass and so on.

Taming local wildlife, however, wasn’t one of them.

Over the last several years, Roanoke Fire-EMS workers at the downtown station have forged a rare Dr. Doolittle-like relationship with the wild animals near the station, particularly a small group of squirrels living in trees in Century Square across the street.

Luring them with bags of Kroger’s roasted, unsalted peanuts, Jordan and a group of firefighters have managed to tame the typically cautious tree-dwellers to the point that several firefighters said it seems almost like the animals think they’re human — just another one of the guys, hanging out, eating food and chewing the fat during downtime.

The squirrels have been known to lounge with the firefighters, chase people across the street in Century Square and crawl on workers’ shoulders in search of food.

Fortunately, they haven’t tried to fight any fires yet.

“We always joke that we’re feeding them so good that in the winter, they’re gonna knock on the door with their bags packed and say, ‘Which bed is mine?’” said Lt. Bill West, chuckling. “It’s almost humanlike. I guess they just wanted to be a fireman’s friend.”

Lt. Roger Guilliams said he often walks down the old wooden staircase that leads to the garage after waking up from a 24-hour shift, only to find a squirrel or two perched on top of an old desk, waiting for breakfast.

They know which drawer the firefighters hide the peanuts in, and they don’t leave until they’re satisfied. They even broke into a box of doughnuts last week and bolted out of the station with some pastry just as firefighters were returning from an emergency call.

They’re really smart. You’d be surprised,” Guilliams said.

The animals have become so used to the firefighters over the last several years that they’ll often just sit on the desk, unfazed, perhaps listening to the early-morning banter of firefighters waiting to be relieved by a new shift, West said. One of the shifts has affectionately named one of the squirrels Rocky, a la the old TV cartoon “The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle”.

“We’ll come down and sit,” West said, pointing to a row of old office chairs and a car seat next to the large, open garage doors where the firefighters lounge during downtime. “And it’s pretty much like he’s one of the guys.”

Jordan said he has already taught at least one of the squirrels to climb up his leg and nibble peanuts on his shoulder — a level of comfort with wild animals he said he acquired living outside the city in the Boones Mill area.

Mostly, the men said they’re cautious with the animals, wary of rabies and other mammal-borne diseases, and they’ve never been bitten, Guilliams said. Jordan, however, said he takes a more trusting approach to squirrel feeding.

“It’s one of those deals were it’s kind of a mutual respect,” he said. “They don’t hurt me and I don’t hurt them, and we’ll get along.”

Several birds drink water out of a small notch in the floor, Guilliams said. Much like the squirrels, the birds have become so accustomed to free water that they’re prone to complain when it’s not ready for them, he said.

“If it’s empty they’ll run over, raising Cain, saying, ‘Where’s my water!’” West said. “This station is pretty nature-friendly, I guess. We’re good to ‘em.”

Feeding the squirrels has become as much of a tradition as washing the floors.

“I reckon they just started getting used to us,” Guilliams said.

(This article was published in the Roanoke Times in Roanoke, Va.)