- Wilmington,
Delaware
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- The telephone
by his bed rings at 3:30 in the morning, maybe
4:30, somewhere in that desperate stretch of
hours. As he has hundreds of times, Billy Kirlin
answers it and listens. He’s knows
what’s going on. He’s been there. Three
years ago, Kirlin made the same call, a call for
help from a drug addict. Maybe it’s an
alcoholic. Or an emotionally distraught father.
Or a compulsive gambler. Whatever, most have
something in common with William Kirlin, Jr.
… they’re Wilmington Firemen.
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- He recalls
the guilt about a fireman hooked on cocaine and
the fear of making any mistake on the job.
"It was overwhelming. What was I doing here
? I’m the guy who’s supposed to be
saving people. I wasn’t the guy you want
coming and trying to help you." That anxiety
led him to call a telephone number posted on the
fire-station bulletin board.
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- Kirlin, 33
has been a fireman for seven years. His father
retired last year as a battalion chief. His
grandfather died fighting a fire after 35 years
with the department. This family tradition
magnified the guilt, he says.
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- By contacting
the department’s employee assistance
program, "It started me on my path to
recovery. Four days later, I was I a 28-day
treatment facility. I was lucky enough. A lot of
people don’t have that luck.
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- After a year
back on the job, Kirlin was asked by program
coordinator Joe Rykaczewski to become involved in
the program. "I wanted to give back …
The more I give, the more I get back, which helps
me continue." The giving comes during his
off-hours from the job. Both he and Rykaczewski
continue carrying full-time duties as
firefighters. Working with a promise of
confidentiality, Kirlin listens to the diverse
problems, directs individuals to where they can
receive professional help, and helps on his own
when he can.
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- "I have
a lot of gratitude for (fire) Chief (Sean)
Mulhern for letting a program like this exist. He
has given us some privileges, some leeway to make
it work," Kirlin says.
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- Kirlin also
is active in a support group for recovering
addicts.. Plus says girlfriend Julie Poorman,
"His neighbors often call on him for help.
He is always there for them." In turn, he
credits all of them with helping him.
"People have helped me stay clean. … If
I hadn’t had these people to lean on, where
would I have been ?"
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- Bill Hayden
- Copyright
1992, The News Journal, Wilmington, DE
- Posted for
Non-Profit Educational use under the Fair Use
Provisons of the InterNational Copyright Laws.
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