Some Vicksburg firefighters are called to schools almost daily but to serve students, not control fires.

Capt. Harold Gaines Sr. is one of 11 officers of the Vicksburg Fire Department who has become a substitute teacher. Firefighters work 24 hours on, 48 hours off and those off periods, Gaines said, offer a different way to show a commitment to the community.

“As a teacher you educate the community’s kids, and as a firefighter your job is to protect lives and property,” said Gaines, who has been a firefighter for 18 years and a teacher for 12. “Both jobs serve the public.”

Fire Chief Keith Rogers said having involved personnel is a good thing.

“It’s important for us to be in constant touch with the youth of our community,” he said. “Because the more we know them and the more we can influence them, the more it helps us.”

Because he has a college degree (Alcorn, 1976), Gaines gets $50 for a day’s work as a sub. Overall, firefighter pay ranges from $25,390 to about $44,107. The Vicksburg Warren School District uses a lot of fill-in teachers. Those without college degrees get $40 a day.

And while “testing” subs is a continuing passion for students, Gaines said discipline is not a major problem for him. Well, there was that time 10 years ago when a fourth-grader threatened to set Gaines’ hair on fire.

He wasn’t really fazed, he said. “I’m a firefighter. We don’t give up, we go in.”

Gaines said he considers himself a fair substitute, though some of his students call him “write-up Gaines” for disciplinary reports he completes.

“They think I’ve written them up for an unjustifiable reason,” he said.

Gaines said the teachers he substitutes for provide lesson plans and schedules, which help make the day easier for him.

“Teachers will set us up where we have a good day,” he said.

Lt. Clarence Maxey, a firefighter since 1995, also decided to substitute teach the year after joining the fire department.

“I have the freedom to choose if I want to work that day,” he said. “You’re kind of your own boss. Control the classroom, and you’re fine.”

“Growing up, I never dreamed I’d be a firefighter,” he said. “But it grew on me real fast, and now I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

His main role as a substitute, he said, is to control the class, keep the noise down and let the students do their work.

“They’re always trying to break the rules,” Maxey said. “You have to be firm with some of these kids, they’ll run all over you if you don’t.”

“The kids love him,” said eighth-grade teacher Pat Irwin. “They always want me to get Mr. Maxey for a substitute.”

“I tell him not to give them any slack and always be firm and strict,” she said. “He’s a very good substitute.”

One student said he wished Maxey was a permanent teacher.

“I wish he could be our real teacher but not in place of Mrs. Irwin,” said eighth-grader Daniel Harris. “I just can’t picture him in a fire suit. He wouldn’t look right.”

Before becoming a substitute in public schools here, applicants must complete an application, pass a math, language and spelling test, pass a background test, and attend a substitute teacher orientation.