Mike Fourtner examines a fire engine at Lewis County Fire District 5's Napavine station Feb. 15. Fourtner was voted "Rookie of the Year" for his work as a volunteer firefighter at the station.
Mike Fourtner returned home to Napavine this week from the frigid temperatures of the Bering Strait.
Fourtner works nearly half the year as a deckhand on the deep sea fishing boat Time Bandit, which is among several ships and crews featured by the popular Discovery Channel reality television series "Deadliest Catch."
Temperatures in the Bering Strait dropped too cold for fishing, leaving Fourtner with two weeks back on land.
Within 24 hours from flying home, Fourtner found himself at the burning historic Dr. Matz Building in downtown Centralia, working is a volunteer firefighter for Napavine's Fire District 5..
Mike Fourtner lives his life hot and cold.
"As soon as I come home, my pager goes off," Fourtner recently told The Chronicle. "And I head to the station."
Since 2010, Fourtner has volunteered for the Fire District 5 in Napavine.
Full-time District 5 Firefighter Brad Bozarth said Fourtner went on 158 calls in 2011, which accounted for 20 percent of the total requests for aid. This year, Fourtner has already been on 10 calls in the one week he has been back in town.
Fourtner's work at the fire department earned him the recognition for the Rookie of the Year Award, a designation voted on by this fellow firefighters.
Fourtner also earned the so-named "Look What I Did Award," a comical nod from fellow firefighters who witnessed him accidentally ripping the door handle from one of the fire engines during a call.
"I hope it's not an annual award," Fourtner quipped.
Fourtner has a history of adrenaline-fueled outbursts. For those who watch "Deadliest Catch," he is known for one such moment popularized on YouTube.
In the clip, Fourtner rips his rain paints on a tote in sub- zero temperatures which causes him erupt in anger. The video shows him grab a rifle and shoot at the tote, somehow keeping his humor throughout.
"In December, I was cleaning out a bunch of stuff in my garage, and that pair of rain pants was hanging in my garage," Fourtner said. "Ripping my pants, that was anger management 101."
Deadliest Catch will premier its eighth season in April. Since camera crews came on the boat, Fourtner, who grew up in Homer, Ala., has experienced some fame.
Fourtner has been invited to various charitable functions put on by New England Patriots' offensive lineman Matt Light and former NFL fullback Mike Alstott. At one event, Fourtner said he auctioned off his Time Bandit jacket and it was purchased by the New England Patriots' Head Coach Bill Belichick's girlfriend Linda, who is a fan of the show.
Despite being on TV for the past eight years, Fourtner said he does not consider himself a celebrity.
"I consider myself someone who happens to be on TV," Fourtner said. "When I think celebrity, I think Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, people who have been in massive movies and multimillion dollars, where they can't even leave their house."
None of the other firefighters in Napavine see Fourtner as a celebrity either, but they do see him as a good teammate.
"You have to be to do this," Bozarth said.
Fourtner grew up in a fishing family in Alaska. After high school, in 1998, he joined the Time Bandit crew. When he is not on the Time Bandit, he fishes during the summer months on his own boat Bristol Tide, which he bought in 2010.
After 14 years of crab fishing on the Time Bandit, Fourtner admits he can't do it forever.
"I love fishing," Fourtner said. "But crab fishing, I physically can't take it for another 15 years."
Fourtner wants to raise a family someday soon with his wife, who he met while at Lower Columbia College in Longview.
"I have a couple more years in me," Fourtner, 32, said. "By the time I'm 35, I will have had 17 years of crab fishing."
Fourtner said his future is with the District 5 firefighters.
"I want to get my firefighter and EMT certifications," Fourtner said. "So when I leave the boats, I'm ready to go."
In his spare time, when he isn't fishing or fighting fires, Fourtner said he enjoys scuba diving.
"I drop down 70 feet and just cruise around," Fourtner said.
