Since his appointment to the position of Price City Fire Chief, Fitzgerald Petersen has made a name for himself in the area. He is often witnessed within the community doing acts of kindness and interacting with those that he serves.
One hobby and great deed of Petersen’s is that he has great photography skills and utilizes them to take photos of Line of Duty Death (LODD) funerals. Petersen remarked that in Seattle of 1995 was the LODD that urged him to do more as four firefighters were killed while battling a warehouse fire. Several thousand firefighters from all over attended and the impact, to Petersen, was life-changing.
Petersen knew he was skilled in photography and wanted to give the families something at the end of the funeral that would help in the healing process. Shortly after, a friend of his passed and he offered to be the honor guard photographer, to which the family was grateful.
“After that, I was committed. When a LODD occurred, I would contact the leadership and offer my work,” Petersen said.
While the funerals were difficult for Petersen, he did not stop photographing them until he moved to Price. What kept Petersen going was two things: the families that were suffering and the honor guards. To Petersen, the fire and police honor guards are under-appreciated and are guardians over the rescuers.
Great photography and a skill for helping people heal is not all that Petersen can do. His other commitment outside of firefighting is service to the homeless, which is what he has done for years away from duty. This began while Petersen was in the army and living in Texas, continuing when he moved back to Utah for school. Petersen served in soup kitchens in Salt Lake City for over 30 years. Shortly after joining the fire service, he began collecting coats, hats, gloves and blankets to keep the homeless warm throughout the winter.
“In the 25 years I collected items for the poor and homeless, we delivered over 125,000 items all while off duty. I thank the 500 members of the Unified Fire Authority for the years gathering all these items up for me to get downtown,” Petersen said.
Petersen also commends his fellow firefighters for their pure commitment to their roles. He stated that, though the world is deep in a pandemic, he is amazed at the volunteers for not retiring or quitting. He even remarked that the responses to 911 calls have increased. He stated that they are an example for the citizens here.
“The pandemic will end in time; just know that before, during and after, I had 24 standing by for all of us. 24 is my new favorite number. Even fire chiefs need heroes, I got the 24 I work with. Keep doing your part, Price has been great. Help me keep these heroes safe. If you stay home like we have been doing, maybe none of them will get sick. That is everyone’s goal,” Petersen stated.
Finally, one of Petersen’s duties in Salt Lake County was being a K9 handler for FEMA for national emergencies or disaster. His K9 is named Pilot and is now a member of the Price Fire Department. Pilot often visits the children and other members of the community and Petersen assured that once the pandemic is over, they will begin again.
“No one needs to remember my name, but everyone remembers Pilot,” Petersen concluded.
