By Grace Kinnicutt
Quad City Times
MOLINE, Ill. — Travis Noyd has spent a majority of his career serving the city of Moline.
On Friday, he retired just three months shy of 27 years. Since 2018, he’s been the deputy chief of EMS for the Moline Fire Department.
“It’s cliché — but I’ve enjoyed helping people and working with my coworkers,” Noyd said.
Noyd, 52, has spent about 24 of his 26 years in public service working at the Moline Fire Department. He first worked at Muscatine Fire Department for a little under two years before coming to Moline.
But how he decided his career path actually started back in a classroom at Black Hawk Community College. It was a pre-calc class, he said, as part of his Engineering Technology path. He remembers sitting next to someone, looking over and having a moment of “what am I doing here.”
So, he decided to change paths, graduating from paramedic school in 1994.
He recalled a few different fires he worked in Muscatine, including a church fire that he and another firefighter were working. They opened a set a doors and immediately started to back off, having seen it was engulfed with flames.
He called another fire he fought early in his career, where the flames were spreading quickly across the floor, “an eye opener.”
He started at Moline Fire Department in 1998, he said, and spent about three days locally before leaving to attend the fire academy for few months, graduated and came back to Moline Fire, spending more than two decades serving the community.
A lot has changed, such as the switch from logging information on paper to digital, being able to give medications and better understanding changing best practices of care, Noyd said.
“The things we can do in the field is so much more advance than when I first started,” he said.
Noyd was named deputy chief of EMS about seven years ago. In the role, he oversees and is responsible for emergency response services delivery and ensures paramedics are trained and certified to provide emergency medical treatment and rescue services. He also supervises and maintains medical supplies and makes sure emergency response vehicles and equipment are maintained and supplied.
When he started as deputy chief, Noyd said, it was nice to work a normal 40-hour work week, rather than the firefighter schedule of 24-hour shifts for a few days, with two days off. The change let him be home in the evenings.
Now, he’ll be home even more. Though, he’s not sure if it was a good or a bad thing for his kids because he was now home to hold them accountable, he said, followed by a laugh.
Training Officer Jerry Sottos is the new deputy chief of EMS, having been sworn in at the Jan. 7 City Council meeting. Noyd said he has been helping Sottos prepare for the role and knows he will make it his own and do a great job.
Noyd said he never imagined being in this career for as long as he is and has enjoyed the relationships and friendships he has built over the years. He’s also been fortunate, he said, to have the opportunity while on the job to see his daughter, Katherine, working as a Moline police officer for the past few years.
“Do I wish she went into fire? Of course,” Noyd said with a laugh. “But she’s always done the opposite of what I have said.”
He isn’t sure what is in store for him next but looks forward to being able to take some time to himself and spending more time with his wife, Stephanie, and kids before figuring out his next steps. Besides, he said, two of his kids are still school and involved in sports so he will be driving them to and from school and practices, which will keep him busy.
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