From a "little ole shirt-tailed kid hanging around the fire station" with his dad and uncle, Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Henry grew up to become a vital part of the Northeast Benton County Volunteer Fire-EMS Department.
Henry, 43, died Saturday, July 24, 2021.
"Jeff Henry was probably the biggest hearted guy in this community," NEBCO Fire Chief Rob Taylor said. "He was very reliable. For me, as a deputy chief, he's that guy you can call at 3 o'clock in the morning and say 'Are you going on that call? Can you make sure this is happening?'
"He was always that guy, he would answer that phone when I needed him to," Taylor said.
Jeff Henry was also the nephew of Taylor. Rob Taylor joined the department in 1984 and became fire chief in 2002. His brother, Mike Henry, is also a firefighter on the department. Jeff Henry joined the department Nov. 5, 1998. He was honored as firefighter of the year in 2005.
"Jeff was a huge part of the department and was involved in so many calls," Julie Bland, NEBCO office manager said. "One call that came to mind was a call that came in for a little boy non responsive and not breathing. Jeff was first on scene and went in and carried the baby and met the ambulance pulling in and handed the baby off so they could begin care. That little boy is alive today thanks to quick response. There are a ton of Jeff stories and everyone who knew him has a 'Jeff story.'
"He was larger than life in so many ways. The void left behind is tremendous," Bland said.
"Jeff had been on practically 25 years," Taylor said, explaining Jeff was always at the meetings, always with his dad. "He kind of grew up in it. It kind of grew into him."
"He was always very interested in it. He always wanted to be involved in what we were doing. I don't know of any training out there Jeff didn't just jump right in and participate in and want to know everything about it and how we were doing things."
"Even up until last week, he was involved in what we were doing and wanted to be better," Taylor said.
"He was as big hearted as he could be as far as NEBCO Fire Department. When there was something going on event wise, training wise, Jeff was involved. He wanted to be involved, not necessarily because he had to be. He wanted to be. Over the years, yeah, he was my nephew, but he was my deputy chief.
"I watched him grow through this department from a young kid out of high school. I began to catch on to that very early on. When I did become fire chief, I knew he was somebody that I could rely on. He was just driven to love the fire service."
"I can't say enough to what he's done," Taylor said.
"He's not replaceable!
"We always say that about people, but Jeff's not replaceable to NEBCO.
"Jeff was always very good. I was always impressed. I would sit back and watch him and see how he'd handle certain situations," Taylor said of Henry's bedside manner.
"I would be on duty in Rogers and couldn't go on the call. I'd be listening to the call. He was the first one I'd call. I always felt great, because I knew after, it was under control whatever the situation was," Taylor, who is also a full-time firefighter on the Rogers Fire Department.
Taylor said Henry's greatest attribute was loyalty -- dependability.
"He was here!"
"When you needed him, Jeff would be here. Whether it be a call in the middle of the night, if he wasn't on the dump truck, he would be here. When we had events going on, Jeff was here -- he was here participating and making it happen. He took a lot of pride in cooking those ribs for the turkey shoot. He did a fantastic job," Taylor said. "I always had to end up letting him win; he had to do it his way. He always had his hands in all that stuff. That's they way he is!"
"If I need to call someone at 3 o'clock in the morning, who in the world am I going to call now?" Taylor mused. "Somebody's going to have to pick up those pieces; they gotta have a lot of want to."