Family at home. Family at church. Family at work. Welcome to the world of Steven Russell “Rusty” Singleton.
At home he’s a husband and father. At church he is a talented soloist and former professional gospel singer at Black Oak Heights Baptist Church, and at work he’s a battalion chief for the Knoxville Fire Department (KFD), working with his third family.
Rusty Singleton
Chief Singleton is 55, in his 22nd year at KFD. His professional singing career with two touring gospel groups ended when he was 33 and before the next year, he was a firefighter, a job he never thought would “fit” him. He works out of Station 18 in West Knoxville on Weisgarber Road on the Red shift. In his role he also runs things at three other fire halls: Station 12 on Old Kingston Pike, Station 20 in West Hills, and Station 21 on Perimeter Park Drive.
Singleton is a Knoxville native raised in the Inskip area, a 1985 graduate of Central High School who now lives in Powell with “a Karns girl, Leeann,” he says. Life with both his mother, Dottie, 78, and late stepfather, Paul Qualls, shaped and molded this man’s life. His love of music came from his mother. “She sang all the time and played the piano at home,” he says. “Not liking music was not an option.”
His stepfather spent 38 years at KFD, retiring as a master firefighter. “I was around the fire business for most of my life but never dreamed I’d be doing it. Paul would take me to visit the fire stations a lot and I saw the old timers there, the big and burly guys who were tough and I didn’t think I fit their mold,” he says.
The family at home? Singleton and his bride of 29 years have two children – Josh, 26, and Rebecca, 20. Both still live at home. “And I absolutely love it. They both spend a lot of time here with Mom and Dad and I’m thrilled they still want to be around us. There is a lot of love at our house.” Rebecca is studying at Pellissippi State Community College and is working for a degree in music. “She’s a little songbird,” he says.
The family at church? Son Josh is the church’s youth director and has a master’s degree in education and wants to be a minister. Rusty’s older brother, who is 60, is the Rev. Randy Singleton, minister of senior adults & service at Black Oak.
The family at work? “Listen, the people I work with are my family, too. They bring their kids to the stations and we get to know them when they’re little and before you know it they’re graduating high school. They come hang out and visit on holidays and that’s special,” he says. “And it still is for me.”
Before KFD, he had a passion for working in sales, spending seven years at Coastal Supply selling HVAC parts in Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina. His superb baritone voice landed him as a member of two gospel music groups – “Mercy Street” for seven years and in the “Vocal Group Testament” for five years. He also worked over five years at the old Sports Belle company making sports uniforms. “They made all of UT’s uniforms before Nike and the others took over with their big money,” he said. “When Peyton (Manning) played he had an SB logo on his sleeve.”
After all of that, the “firebug” bit him. When he completed Fire Academy, he first worked at the headquarters station downtown and stayed there for 15 years. Then he spent some time in the Fire Marshal’s office before three years at Station 14 on Central Avenue and in June 2020 he was promoted to battalion chief at Station 18, where he serves today.
After all that, what lured him to the profession? “Just the opportunity to help people and serve our community. Seeing just how many people’s lives you can affect every day for the better. That really appealed to me,” he said. “And maybe I thought I couldn’t do it. I’ve always been motivated by a fear of failure so I work extra hard so I don’t fail. And hey, it’s such a thrill and rush to drive those big red fire trucks.”
Our paths first crossed in January during interviews with Singleton and three on his team – Capt. Chris McReynolds, Master Firefighter Justin Ingle and firefighter Ethan Tompkins. On a stormy August 2021 evening this team saved a woman’s life who was caught in flooding on Papermill Drive in front of McKay’s Books. Singleton heard her screams. Ingle found her clinging to a tree with McReynolds and Tompkins behind him. Tompkins threw Ingle, now in the raging water, the rope and they pulled him and the young woman to safety. All four were honored with Unit Citation Lifesaving awards not long after this happened. Here is a link to that story we published on January 10, 2022.
That rescue was incredible, but to veteran firefighters it’s part of the job. However, the bad side of the work can be really bad and Singleton talked about that.
“The worst part of this work? The death … the amount of death you see. Car wrecks, heart attacks, gunshots, murders, fires, the suicides, the bodies mutilated in accidents. It’s a constant for us,” he said. “You see people who’ve been dead for a long time when they have no family or friends to check on them. It’s very sad. But we deal with it. We have to.”
Has he loved his chosen profession? “Oh my gosh … I’m not sure I have the words to describe what it’s been like for me. You get to thinking about all the people you have pulled out of bad situations. We help people who are desperate and make ‘em smile. That’s why you can’t put a value on this work we all do.”
Tom King has been the editor of newspapers in Texas and California and also worked in Tennessee and Georgia.