Now the bridge carries the name of the former Tygart Valley Fire Company fire chief who served nearly 50 years making communities safer.

Scores of Tygart Valley residents honored one of their own Oct. 1 as the span was renamed the James “Big Jim” Shaffer Memorial Bridge in a ceremony at the Tygart Valley Fire Company hall.

Tears flowed, and at other times smiles shone as fellow firefighters, family and friends celebrated the life of Shaffer, who joined the TVFC when he was just 15 years old, became its fire chief at the age of 25, and held that position for an impressive 38 years before retiring in 2006 after 48 years of volunteer service with the fire squad.

Shaffer died nearly a decade ago on Dec. 18, 2012. Gail Simmons Shaffer — his childhood sweetheart since sixth grade and wife of 45 years — knew earlier this year a bridge would be dedicated to her late husband, but died May 2.

Submitted photo West Virginia House of Delegates member William ‘Ty’ Nestor (R-66th District), front row, second from left, presents a miniature reflectorized sign to Kelley Shaffer, daughter of the late Tygart Valley Fire Company Fire Chief James ‘Big Jim’ Shaffer, during a ceremony at TVFC to rename the Burnt Bridge in her father’s memory. The sign is similar to those flanking both sides of the bridge and viewed by motorists traveling on U.S. 219 in Dailey. Participating in the bridge-dedication ceremony are, front row, left, TVFC firefighter Joe Elbon, who served decades under Shaffer’s leadership; and Shaffer’s brother, Delbert Shaffer, right; back row, Elkins Marine Corps League Commandant and master of ceremonies Roger Ware; bridge-dedication ceremony assistants Keith Williams and Charlie Gear; MCL Chaplain Judy Gum; and West Virginia gubernatorial representative Lynn Phillips.

A mixture of photographs of family and fellow firemen flanked Shaffer’s memorabilia carefully displayed on the fire hall’s tables – his white hardhat; a shiny engraved commemorative axe resembling the one he used to break through burning buildings; his TVFC jacket, worn from proud years of use.

Women of the TVFC Auxiliary prepared a spread of food awaiting guests, reminiscent of scores of times they waited to feed Shaffer’s exhausted and dirty firefighters returning from extinguishing a blaze.

As a youth, Shaffer was inspired by his neighbor, Fire Chief Ray Collett, who “took Dad along to do stuff with the fire department,” said Shaffer’s daughter, Kelley Shaffer. “He (Collett) encouraged Dad to join, and Dad wanted to join so bad he fibbed about his age – you were supposed to be 16.” She said Gabby Price, another TVFC fire chief, also was instrumental in fanning the flames of Shaffer’s desire to join the firefighting ranks.

Born Oct. 5, 1943, in East Dailey, Shaffer attended Randolph County schools, worked at Coastal Lumber Company and for various coal mines, and retired from the West Virginia Department of Highways as a heavy equipment operator. But firefighting and the camaraderie of his fire department brotherhood was his true calling.

Common to any firefighter, Shaffer responded to structure fires, motor vehicle accidents, downed trees, searching for missing individuals, and providing mutual aid to other local fire departments.

But his efforts to improve lives of local citizens didn’t stop there.

Under Shaffer’s leadership, the Tygart Valley Fire Company built two new stations and purchased updated trucks and equipment to expand their services to the community and provide quality protection for residents in East Dailey, Dailey and Valley Bend.

In 2003 and 2004 he wrote two Federal Emergency Management Agency grants providing more than $165,000 to TVFC for 30 sets of personal protective equipment, including bunker coats, bunker pants, boots, gloves, and Nomex hoods.

Throughout his career Shaffer also aided the former Valley Water Company with line repairs and searching for line breaks, providing traffic control at accident scenes, assisting the former Coastal Lumber Company with silo and brush fires, organizing “porch light drives” to raise funds for TVFC and staging safety demonstrations for children at the former Homestead Elementary School.

Roger Ware, commandant of the Elkins Marine Corps League, served as master of ceremonies for the bridge dedication ceremony and outlined hazards and trials confronted by firefighters in the line of duty.

“Firefighters look danger and death in the eyes, and are an unselfish breed of people who do everything possible to keep us safe, even when they are in danger. They fight fires. They help victims of car accidents. They live extremely stressful lives and some things they experience they can’t unsee,” Ware said. “But they keep on doing their job because it is a calling. A passion. A fire burning in their hearts that is uncontrollable and unextinguishable.

“Firefighters are true heroes as they demonstrate their courage by charging ahead into whatever scenario they encounter,” he said. “The training is the foundation that everything else depends upon, and having the skills to perform embedded in you through repetition helps when the real deal comes your way.”

Failure is not an option, Ware said, but can sometimes be a reality. “Success is what makes firefighting great. Failure is soul-crushing, confidence stealing, character-destroying misery — it’s the greatest unspoken fear that every firefighter carries with them.

“Firefighting is more than a way to make a living. It’s a way of life. But nothing in life is free. Going to work knowing there is a very good chance something will happen that will eat away at your soul becomes business as usual. Mentally preparing yourself to face death, disfigurement and disease becomes the norm, while working or not. The feeling of impending doom will always be with you, consciously or subconsciously, it matters not; what does matter is how you handle it.”

Danger can linger long after the fire equipment is back in the garage and the “turnout gear” has been taken off. Burning paint, varnishes and treated lumber emit toxins that go into the air and are breathed in and stay in the lungs long after the fire is out; asbestos fibers may be inhaled when breaking down a wall in a burning home; acrid dust can settle in lungs and on skin. In addition are the million and one chemicals such as gasoline, diesel, oil and other petrochemicals released when a vehicle catches fire.

“Firefighters are always on duty. There is no down time. The mind is never at rest,” Ware said. “They risk their all to save lives and property in their own communities, and they react with the same fervor and commitment when ‘toned out’ in the heat of the day or the dead of night to assist other fire departments in neighboring towns who have disasters too big to handle alone. Firefighters are a large family, a band of brothers joined in commitment and cause, and they never turn their backs on one another.

Ware said the bridge is an important piece of community infrastructure, “but now it’s much more — it’s also a permanent reminder of the dedication of Big Jim Shaffer.”

“It is with respect and dignity that we are here today to remember him, honor him and pledge never to forget him as this bridge will forever serve as a silent sentinel of his service,” Ware said.

Del. William “Ty” Nestor, R-66th District, co-sponsored House Concurrent Resolution 5 passed this year by the West Virginia Legislature to permit renaming the Burnt Bridge in Shaffer’s memory. He read the resolution outlining Shaffer’s achievements to attendees at the bridge-dedication ceremony.

“Delegate Nestor wanted to not only memorialize Big Jim’s service in this small way, but also to have it be a memorial for our society in general about the personal sacrifice and courage that Big Jim demonstrated when he was toned out on a call,” Ware said.

“Dedicating a bridge is a perfect symbol of what Big Jim Shaffer gave, because when somebody puts everything on the line, that creates a bridge that allows everybody else to live free and travel back and forth.” he said, adding Shaffer was “a bridge by always making connections and connecting people, helping and caring and supporting others.”

Letters of congratulation to the Shaffer family commemorating the bridge’s renaming included one from West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, read by gubernatorial representative Lynn Phillips, and one from Congressman Alex X. Mooney, read by Elkins Marine Corps League Adjutant Judith Ware.

Miniature reflectorized signs similar to those designating the span as the James “Big Jim” Shaffer Memorial Bridge as well as copies of HCR 5 were distributed to Shaffer’s extended family members.