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SALUTE
to First Responders
Mistie Desper
Why did you decide to be a fireman?
A friend of mine was a volunteer with the Ridgeland Fire Department. I was
out with him one day when his pager activated and we responded to a medical
aid call. I was hooked from that day forward. The thought never crossed my
mind until that point. I had always wanted to serve, so in 1989, I joined the
National Guard right out of high school in order to serve my country. I thought
by becoming a firefighter, I could serve my community and help those in
their time of need. I became a volunteer with the city of Ridgeland in 1993
and became a paid firefighter for the City of Ridgeland in 1995. I have never
looked back and have absolutely loved every minute of my career.
How long have you been with the
Puckett Fire Department?
I moved just outside of Puckett in 2012 and immediately joined the Puckett
Volunteer Fire Department. I became their training chief not long after
becoming a member. All the members of the Puckett Fire Department have
been trained to the level of volunteer fire fighter.
Tell us about your family.
My wife Terryl and I met and were married in May of 1995. She works as an
auditor for the Department of Defense. We have two children, a daughter that
is 28 and is currently serving as a flight medic in the Air Force, stationed in
Okinawa, Japan, where she flies sick and wounded military members back to
the States. I can’t think of a more honorable job than the one she has. My son
is 22 and is currently getting ready to begin his senior year at Delta State
University in Cleveland, Mississippi. He is enrolled in the aviation program
with hopes to fly with FED-EX after graduation. God has richly blessed us
through the years and I couldn’t be more proud of my family.
Fireman
Todd
Yelverton
PUCKETT FIRE DEPARTMENT
What is the toughest thing you have experienced in
your job?
The toughest things as a firefighter are the patients and property that were lost
along the way. You try so hard to save as many lives and as much property as
you can. The ones that you do lose, you never forget. I continue to give myself
to the job, and lose pieces of myself along the way. We are taught to be tough
and not let things get to us, but that is impossible. We build our walls up for
protection and there are times when we build the walls up and block out our
family, friends, co-workers and yes, even God. It has been labeled as
post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD for short. I like to think of it as
post-traumatic stress injuries. It is an injury to our minds that most firefighters
never get help for. We would seek help for an injury to our arm or leg but
never seek help for an injury to our minds. There is a team in Rankin County
that I am a part of for first responders—the Rankin County Critical Incident
Stress Response Team. We go around talking to first responders involved in
the horrific calls that stick with them. I also started a class at The Pointe
Church in Brandon called Biblical Solutions for Line of Duty Stress and
Trauma. I have found these classes geared to helping others has helped me
tremendously.
90 • JULY 2021