The Muscatine Fire Department held a badge pinning ceremony on July 19 to celebrate four firefighters being promoted to new positions. They were joined in the Day Room of Fire Station 1 by family, friends and co-workers while Fire Chief Jerry Ewers pinned the badges of rank on their uniforms.
Joe Timmsen, a 23-year veteran of the Muscatine Fire Department, was promoted to Battalion Chief of Green Shift after having been the Red Shift captain for the past six years. Timmsen replaces Darrell Janssen who retired June 30 as the Green Shift Battalion Chief after 25 years of service.
Andrew McSorley, an eight-year veteran of the Muscatine fire service, was promoted to replace Timmsen as the Red Shift Captain. Timmsen was the Fire Lieutenant for Green Shift, a role now assigned to newly appointed Fire Lieutenant Jason Verschoore, a six-year veteran of the Muscatine Fire Department. Verschoore was the Fire Mechanic for the Muscatine Fire Department and a search is underway to replace him in that position.
Joe Rymars, a five-year veteran of the Muscatine Fire Department, was promoted to Fire Lieutenant on June 1, 2023, after serving as an Acting Lieutenant for the past three months. He has been assigned to Red Shift and is the supervisor in charge of Fire Station 2 on Stewart Road in the south end of Muscatine. He began his career with the Muscatine Fire Department on Oct. 15, 2018. He volunteered for several years in Princeton, Iowa, but moved away and became involved with EMS. He previously worked full-time in Scott County. He’s the supervisor in charge of Fire Station 2, which covers the south side of Muscatine. He trained in Hazmat and as a paramedic. “We are kind of a triple threat down here as far as response,” Rymars said. “Depending on what type of call there might be, we are ready to respond.” The Muscatine Fire Department Hazmat (Hazardous Material) unit covers a five-county area or about 2,450 square miles and Rymars is eager to learn more about the job. “Definitely one of my goals is to learn more about the position,” Rymars said. “That includes continuing that continuum of knowledge and taking more certification courses along with attending conferences and seminars. Just increasing my knowledge in all aspects of the all-hazard response.”
Joe Timmsen was a volunteer for the Buffalo ambulance service but wanted to get into the fire service. He began volunteering, got into a paramedic program, and in 2000 was one of the first hires after the Muscatine Fire Department took over the ambulance service in Muscatine. “It is what I wanted to do,” he said. “I wanted to be that go-to guy on the engine.” Working as a paramedic back then was one of the only ways a person could get into the fire service. “Ninety percent of our calls are for EMS (Emergency Medical Services),” Timmsen said. “So being a paramedic was your way into the fire service and then you could work towards your fire degree.” He hopes new hires to the department are ready to step up as others begin to retire. “We will be losing a lot of the top end of our staff over the next few years, and I do not want to see a lot of firefighters come in and say what do I do know,” he said. “Ideally, I want to develop these young firefighters and those that are ready for the next step.” For those debating a career in firefighting, he says to just try it. “People across the country have the opportunity to apply with little or no experience. And they will be trained in house. If you have curiosity about the fire service, then you should follow up on it.”
Andrew McSorley started with the Muscatine Fire Department in March 2015 after working part-time on a county ambulance, working for Hoffman, Inc., in Muscatine, and volunteering with the Riverside Fire Department for eight years. He wanted to get into the fire service full time and tested around the area. “Muscatine was the first to call and I took the opportunity,” McSorley said. Muscatine’s gain was Riverside’s loss. “I remained a volunteer at Riverside through my probation and realized just how busy I would be, so I stopped volunteering.” He didn’t have any thoughts of becoming an officer for the Muscatine Fire Department when he started. Every year he took on more tasks and was asked to be a part of various activities. His passion for the field only grew when he was put in charge of the Recruit Academy. “Being able to train the new recruits coming in, that is what developed me and pushed my passion even further,” McSorley said. “Training people with no prior experience, building them into the kind of firefighter you want, watching them succeed through the ranks and in their careers, that is what inspires me.” McSorley was promoted to Lieutenant on Sept. 20, 2021, and has worked to improve the training facilities and help educate new recruits. He will move to a different shift as he takes over as Captain of Red Shift and is excited to see new faces every day and build a cohesive firefighting team. “I am excited about it,” he said. “A little humbled, though, as I look back. It really hit home yesterday about where my career has been, and where it is going.”
The training facilities will now be managed by newly promoted Lieutenant Jason Verschoore, who has worked closely with McSorley in planning and implementing many of the new features of the training center. “I want to keep improving on what Lieutenant McSorley has already done, keep going with the process of the burn building, and getting more training props down there,” Verschoore said. “I look forward to continuing the progress we have made and improving the things that I see would benefit the department. I want to just keep making it a better place for training the entire department.” He’s had a lifetime of exposure to the world of firefighting. “I have been around it since I was a baby,” he said. “My dad was a Blue Grass firefighter until he passed away and then I took his spot. It is kind of a neat deal to transition into the fire service that way. It is also kind of neat that all three (Muscatine Fire) lieutenants are from Blue Grass.” Verschoore also volunteers with the Walcott Fire Department and joined the Muscatine Fire Department in 2017. In 2020 he was promoted to Fire Mechanic, a position that not only works to keep the fire department vehicles running but also helps staff spec out requirements for new units. “It has been a fun six and a half years,” Verschoore said. “Getting to see different sides of it (Muscatine Fire) as a firefighter and then moving into the mechanics role, working on the vehicles, and helping to spec out the different vehicles. I look forward to the next step and continuing to build on that.”
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