Living a Double Life: Mount Pleasant part-time firefighter also runs barber shop


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Bill Cook almost died working his part-time job as a firefighter nearly 20 years ago.

The Union Township resident arrived at the scene of a fire at the former downtown business Lee’s Bridal Shop, and went in. There were moments it seemed he would never come out.

“I was 30 seconds away from the roof collapsing,” he said. “We got to the bottom of the stairway and the whole thing collapsed in.”

Cook’s first love, however, wasn’t even fighting fires.

He went into something a little less dangerous — cutting hair.

“I decided to go to school for one year to be a barber,” he said. “You make a decent living. You won’t be rich, but you’ll make a decent living. That’s why I do other things.”

Cook is just one of several Mount Pleasant Fire Department firefighters that work another job. Some of the other jobs members of the MPFD work as include an elementary school teacher and hazardous materials technician.

Cook has worked in the barbershop business since 1983. He worked for his father until he took over Bob’s Barber Shop, 211 W. Michigan St., 15 years ago.

“My dad started (cutting hair) at the university back in 1955 until 1960. Back then, he didn’t have a lot of money. He couldn’t afford to go to a trade school,” he said. “He worked the shop by himself, and he asked me if I wanted to do it.”

Another side of work

Jeff Pickler, a code enforcement officer for Mount Pleasant and former detective sergeant for the Central Michigan University Police of 35 years, has worked as a firefighter for 25 years, 13 for Mount Pleasant and 12 for Fremont and Deerfield townships.

“It’s another side of work I’ve never seen before,” said Pickler, who also was a Central Michigan University Police detective sergeant for 35 years. “We come to the table from all different walks of life and bring a lot of different knowledge to it.”

Cook said he became interested in firefighting when several members of the MPFD came into the barbershop and got haircuts.

Working for himself, Cook said, allows him to be more lenient with firefighting. If he gets a call and does not have a line of customers needing haircuts, he can run out on the call.

“If you work at a state job or a job where you cannot leave your job, you’re only available for 12, 14 hours a day,” he said. “Most of us are available 24/7.”’

Part-time firefighters are required to go on 30 percent of runs, and part-time captains are required to go on 50 percent.

Pickler, a part-time captain, said working for the city as a code enforcement officer allows him to go more freely to fire scenes, as opposed to the CMU Police, where he said would take time off to go on runs.

Fire Chief Greg Walterhouse said the wide range of talent adds to the department. If one is a plumber, he said, they usually help out with the station repairs.

“All of them bring a different experience and expertise,” he said. “And you can draw on that expertise. If you need a small repair at the station, they’ll do that for you.”

Pickler said he once had to set the record straight about working two different jobs. His son’s teacher asked him what his father did for a living, and told her a police officer and a firefighter.

“The teacher said he could only be one or the other,” he said. “So I met with the teacher the next day and gave her a little bit of education.”

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