Longtime training officer heads leaves fire service

East Manatee Fire Rescue Lt. John Duffy recognized the talent more than two decades ago.

He was going to the Venice Fire Academy with a friend, Tim Hyden.

“Even in fire school, you knew he was going to be a leader or a teacher,” Duffy said. “You could just tell he had his head together. He’s a funny, normal guy. You knew he was going to stay in the business and do great things.”

Hyden proved him right.

For the past 12 years, Hyden has served as the first full-time training officer for East Manatee Fire Rescue, building the district’s training program from scratch. Unfortunately for the department, March 17 was Hyden’s final day.

“I hate to be leaving now,” said Hyden, noting the district is about to start construction on a new training tower. “This is something I’ve needed for years.”

However, the 57-year-old Hyden is ready for the change. He and his wife, Maureen, sold their house in Braden Woods and are moving to Clermont to be closer with Maureen Hyden’s siblings. It’s also now a 20-minute drive to the couple’s favorite place, Walt Disney World.

“This has been coming for awhile,” Hyden said of his departure.

Hyden technically retired in 2014, but has continued working as allowed by the Florida Retirement System’s Deferred Retirement Option Program.

Hyden’s passion for the fire service goes back half his life. In his younger days, he was a car salesman in Jackson, Mich. But, in November 1992, he sought change and headed to Florida with the intent of becoming a fireman, after volunteering with the fire department where he was living.

“My (late) grandmother, Josephine McAvoy, was here,” Hyden said. “I’d been down and visited here and liked it.”

He volunteered with the Anna Maria Fire District, working odd jobs while attending firefighter school at Venice Fire Academy, and continued volunteering until January 1996, at which time the department hired him full time.

“I’ve often said those three years as a volunteer were so cool,” Hyden said, noting the department organized fish fries and haunted houses as fundraisers. “You don’t see much of that anymore.”

Hyden ran calls with the district when it and the West Side Fire District merged into what is now the West Manatee Fire District in the late 1990s.

Then, in 2004, Manatee County voters approved an ad valorem assessment for East Manatee Fire Rescue District, providing a new revenue stream for the department. It created a position for a training officer, and Hyden jumped at the opportunity.

“I was at a point where I wanted to do more,” Hyden said. “Training was something I was already interested in.

“The tax enabled so many things to happen, me being one of them,” he said. “It allowed us to be proactive and prepare for growth.”

Hyden stepped into his new role in October 2004. In February 2005, the district added five firemen. In August 2005, it added 12 more, essentially doubling East Manatee’s firefighter count.

“That first year was a whirlwind,” Hyden said. “I had so much passion, it was oozing out of me, but it was hard to take that passion and apply it. It was a transition for everybody.”

Hyden looked at his job as if he were a chef, choosing the final entree and then making preparations to create a dish. He identified training needs and mapped out plans targeting those areas. For example, with 10 miles of Interstate 75 in the district, he knew training in crash extrication and hazardous materials would be critical because nearly every call had a medical component to it.

“He’s organized the whole division, really,” Duffy said of Hyden. “He set up everything we use today.”

East Manatee Fire Rescue Chief Lee Whitehurst was on the interview board that hired Hyden and said Hyden has helped keep the district ahead of the curve on health and safety issues.

“I saw him come and go,” Whitehurst said. “I know he’s happy about this, so I’m happy for him. It’s all on a good note.”