Joe Lee: The man with 4 KFD jobs

Tom KingOur Town Heroes, Powell

Family. Firefighting. Fishing. Faith.

“KFD” is short for the Knoxville Fire Department, in the context of today’s Our Town Hero. In the lifetime of KFD Capt. Joe Lee, it’s where he works. It also works for his Knoxville Family Department. Away from work, Lee leads another KFD life – the Knoxville Fishing Department. And then there’s his Knoxville Faith Department.

Capt. Joe Lee

Lee’s life is wrapped around and intertwined with all four. They are inseparable. These days he’s at Station 21 on Parkside Drive.

He’s two months shy of his 26th anniversary with KFD and is 51 years old. But, he says, he’s been a part of the KFD family since he was 4. He lived the life at home growing up. On Jan. 24, 2022, only 42 days ago, his father, 79-year-old Cecil W. “Sonny” Lee, passed away. The elder Lee was a 30-year KFD veteran who also loved fishing and even had a run of 20 years on WBIR-TV on his fishing show — “Fishing Tips with Sonny.”

More about the family…

  • Last week on Feb. 24, he and wife Missy tearfully watched son Josh graduate from the KFD Academy. He’s 20. His first firefighter shift is today.
  • Their other son, Jake, has not joined the KFD. What does he do? “He fishes,” Lee said. “He wants to be on the Bassmaster Professional tour. He and his teammates at Bryan College won the collegiate Bassmaster National Fishing Tournament.” He’s hooked, so to speak, and received a partial fishing scholarship to Bryan.
  • Joe’s Uncle Bob was the late Bob Pressley, who retired from KFD as deputy chief after 30-plus years. He passed away six years ago.
  • His second cousin is retired KFD Capt. Donny Lee.
  • The last family connection is retired firefighter Jeff Lee, his brother. “Jeff is the best firefighter I’ve ever seen.” And this connection is relevant and a big part of Lee’s firefighting life.

On Feb. 7, 2007, the historic McClung Warehouses on Jackson Avenue downtown burned down. It was a big fire, driven by high winds and a structure with wooden beams and floors that burned quickly. Joe and Jeff Lee, along with firefighter Jeff Kendrick, were trapped on the third floor. The only way out was to slide down a fire hose. The Lee brothers were first down and then Kendrick. All three survived. All three were injured and those injuries ended Jeff Lee’s career. He eventually retired on disability.

Joe Lee was promoted to captain in 2005. In two years, his plan is to retire as a captain. He’ll only be 53. What’s next? Another job? “Nope,” he says. “Fishing. I hope.”

When asked about his career, he shared a little with us. “I’ve had hundreds of close calls over the years. When you work fires and wrecks on the interstates and Pellissippi Parkway it’s scary. You have to stay on your toes. At times you make several life and death decisions every day. It’s all about helping people and making their day better. Even we do something like helping someone who has fallen at home, it’s really a chance to talk with them and get to know them. We don’t just pick ’em and leave.”

Our next question was about those close calls and the things he sees on the job – deaths, people badly injured in accidents and fires, injured kids. “I don’t like to go there. I’d rather not talk about that. I talk with Missy (his wife of 27 years) about those at home in Powell and with a few of the guys. Missy’s awesome about it. God made her for me. She can tell immediately when I’ve had a bad shift.”

After graduating from Bearden High School in 1988, he was off to the University of Tennessee, where he earned a degree in Wildfire and Fisheries Science with a minor in Forestry. His plan was to work for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. It didn’t happen. A hiring freeze got him. Fate, perhaps? He worked three years for Varmint Busters and then applied to KFD. “I’d always been drawn to this job since it’s in the family,” he said.

And he added: “… This is what I was made to do. My dad told me years ago it’s the greatest job in the world and he was right. Dad always said ‘If you are having a bad day you’re off tomorrow.’ But this job has beat me up mentally, emotionally and physically.”

And his other KFD is the Knoxville Faith Department. The Lee family are members of Middlebrook Pike Baptist Church. Joe is not ordained, but preaches from time to time at church and at funerals. For 10 years he served as a youth minister. “The faith part of this is the only one that matters – if you know Jesus,” he said. He also helped officiate the funeral of his Uncle Bob Pressley.

His retirement “job” of fishing includes tournament fishing. If, he says, he does need a job to bring in some money he wants it to be around fishing. You may find him putting on fishing seminars at Edgemoor Outdoors in the evenings soon. Two days ago, he was part of the Edgemoor Outdoors fishing team on Cherokee Lake.

“There’s not a part of my life I don’t love every day of my life,” he says. “I am a truly blessed man.”

Tom King has served at newspapers in Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and California and was the editor of two newspapers. Suggest future stories at tking535@gmail.com or call him at 865-659-3562.

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