Any description of a “local boy” should include a picture of Herbert Kuemmel. Herbert was born in Rochelle in 1893, the son of Henry and Mary (Zimmerman) Kuemmel. Herb grew up and attended school in the town of his birth. The only time Herb wasn’t in Rochelle was a short period during World War I when his Uncle Sam sent him to France. Once he finished his business with the Army Quartermaster Corp, he boarded the first available ship and returned to his town, Rochelle. Herb married Bessie Peterson in 1917 and began his family. He was employed at Zimmerman Brothers Grocery.

Herbert became a volunteer firefighter in 1928 and began on a path that would define much of his life. The fire department in 1928 had two full-time drivers and counted on volunteers to respond and fight the fires. There were two pieces of fire apparatus, a 1911 chemical truck (you had to pour water into the tank then drop in soda and acid to create enough pressure to spray water from the hose), and a 1924 American LaFrance engine, lovingly called Gerdie. The only breathing protection were MSA Chemox rebreathing units. These rebreathers were developed for use in the mining industry, not for fire protection. The soft rubber hoses could melt at low temperatures and would collapse under the slightest pressure. Firefighting was a very strenuous occupation. 

Herb began his volunteer service under the direction of Chief George Unger. He would work at the grocery store and, if he could, would run to the fire station when the warning siren was sounded. New fire chiefs were common; John Maxson in 1935, Sam Hamaker in 1942, and Walter Vierke in 1942. The chief might change but one thing was constant: Herb Kuemmel was there to protect his community. In his first 14 years Herb worked under four different fire chiefs. 

As a volunteer he fought fires in the city and in the country, barns, houses, factories, businesses, fields and vehicles. Herb was becoming a real smoke eater, he had to be because no one would wear the Chemox masks. Even with asthma it was easier to breathe the smoke than try to pull air from the Chemox. Herb saw the good times and the bad. When a firefighter was arrested for arson, Herb took the teasing and continued to serve. When the man was paroled and came back to Rochelle only to be arrested for arson again, Herb proudly explained that “true” firefighters had helped to solve the case and assisted in the arrest. Inhalators were given to the fire department so they could respond to heart attacks, drownings, and other breathing problems. Herb learned the operation of the apparatus and became a member of the inhalator squad. Anything he could do for his town, he would do. 

In 1942 Herbert received the opportunity of his dreams. Ropert Varner was one of the two full-time drivers for the fire department, and he was resigning to work at the Green River Ordinance Plant in Amboy. This created an opening on the fire department for a driver. Herb saw this opportunity and jumped on it like the proverbial duck on a June bug.

Herb was hired and began his shift of 24 hours on duty then 24 hours off. From now on. half of his time would be spent at the fire department. Bessie would spend half of her time raising their son, Harry, and daughter, Evelyn, alone. Every other day Herb would walk to work with his best friend, Commando, by his side. Herb would clean and maintain the fire apparatus and Commando would sit on the back of Gerdie and wait for someone to come in and drop a penny in the peanut machine. 

From making calls when he could to being on duty for half of the calls and a volunteer responder for the other half, Herb was building a deep understanding of his profession. He saw people lose homes and family and he never failed to respond in the hopes that he could be of help. He was there in 1944 when the Lee County Grain Association elevator in Ashton went up in flames. Rochelle was one of several departments on scene fighting to contain the fire to the elevator and save the rest of the business district. Herb was there when Ashton Fire Chief Harold Dobbs collapsed and died from a heart attack at the scene. When E. Wellington Taylor, the other fire department driver, died at home in 1946, Herb was on duty and remained on duty through both shifts until things could be sorted out. 

On Dec. 27, 1950, the business district of Rochelle was threatened when the Hornsby 5 & 10 erupted in flames. Herb suffered through the brutal sub-zero temperatures to help contain the fire. By sunrise the fire was controlled, but at great cost. Volunteer Firefighter Kenneth Wendt died fighting the fire. 

In December 1953 Herb responded to his last alarm. The Paul Willrett farm east of Creston was on fire. Herb responded with the Rochelle crew. The tremendous heat generated by the windswept flames buckled nearby silos. Firefighters used tin and asbestos sheets as shields to get close enough to the fire for the water to reach the flames. Herb and his crew ate a lot of smoke that day. When the fire truck returned to Rochelle Herb knew something was wrong. He was taken straight to his sick bed, and 12 days later he died. 

Herb did not need to be a world traveler, he learned what he needed to know looking into the eyes of those in need, and in the service of his community.   

Tom McDermott is a Flagg Township Museum historian and Rochelle city councilman.