Bowling Green’s Fire Chief has the
Travel Bug
By Abby Shifley | Winter 2018
From the bush in Australia to Bowling Green, Ohio, Fire Chief Bill Moorman has been fighting fires across the world. Traveling to foreign countries never scared Moorman, in fact, he said his travels made him who he is today.
Moorman is a tall man, with broad shoulders, and has curly, short brown hair with blue eyes, complete with an Australian accent. He has lived in America for 30 years and next August, he will have been at the Bowling Green Fire Division for 25 years.
“Bill has great connections with people,” she said. Not only is Moorman an intelligent firefighter — but when there is a dangerous situation, he can communicate easily with the media, families and city officials, Tretter said.
Making connections with people was a large part of Moorman’s travels, because the best spots were spread by word-of-mouth.
“You’re guided by the people you meet and the experiences they had. That’s part of the fun of just traveling,” Moorman said.
Moorman’s adventure started at the foot of the second tallest mountain in Australia, in a small town called “Mount Beauty.”
“I wanted to learn about everything … living in Australia, in a small community, you only saw one element, you only saw one thing growing up.
I knew listening to other people that have traveled and listening to their stories, I loved history when I was in school — I wanted to explore, I wanted to see those things,” he said.
Traveling is like a rite of passage in Australia — which Moorman welcomed with open arms. By the time he was 12 years old, he was riding motor bikes with his friends up into the bush.
In the bush, Moorman’s dad was a volunteer firefighter, and Moorman followed in his father’s footsteps. By the time he was 18, Moorman started as a volunteer cadet firefighter. He said he would be dropped in the middle of the wilderness by a helicopter and be told to put out a large wildfire — and he loved it.
“I loved adventure. Whether it was scuba diving or just camping or backpacking … it was truly an adventure growing up. I think that’s what started this passion for travel and just wanting to see more,” Moorman said.
Kevin Moorman, Moorman’s younger brother, said in an email his older brother has always been dauntless— he loves motorcycles, good-looking cars and practical jokes.
Moorman would pick up venomous snakes to scare his companions on their travels. But despite the pranks, Kevin Moorman had good things to say about his brother.
“I can say he is a very loyal person that would do anything to help out someone in need if possible, to do so,” Kevin Moorman wrote.
Kevin Moorman set off to travel six months before his older brother. They met up, along with two other mates, in England.
First, the group took a ferry from Wales and hitchhiked through Ireland for about a month. Moorman said his ancestors are from Ireland and Germany — two countries he had the opportunity to explore during his travels.
When Moorman made it to Israel, he and his group knew they wanted to volunteer at a Kibbutz: a collective community primarily based on agriculture. The Kibbutz Moorman stayed at specialized in tulips, bananas, citrus orchards and turkey farms. The group mainly worked on the banana plantations, and in exchange, the Kibbutz provided them with accommodations while they traveled Israel.
Kevin Moorman wrote he and his brother saw their share of trouble in Israel, even though they were just looking for a warm beach after the icy, rainy beaches of the UK.
“ … Well we ended up at the beach all right but on the Lebanon border, so in the 4 months we were there we had fighter jets overhead, attack helicopters circle over us rockets pass over us and paraglider terrorists fly overhead on their way to do nasty business,” Kevin Moorman wrote.
After about three months, the group of four moved on to Egypt, where they got to explore many historical sites. In Egypt, Moorman stayed in Cairo and saw the Pyramids and the Sphinx, but also got to ride bicycles through the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens for
about a week.
From there, the group took a small sailing boat called a “felucca” and sailed up the Nile. They scuba-dived in the Red Sea, traveled to St. Catherine’s Monastery — the site where some believe Moses received The 10 Commandments — and to the Dead Sea. They also went to the Greek Islands and Turkey for a few months each.
The group eventually went their separate ways, with Moorman staying in Turkey to work. Moorman said Turkey was his favorite stop in all his travels because of the beautiful landscape and history.
Once Moorman had saved up some money, he met up with his brother in Germany for Oktoberfest, before traveling to America — a destination that turned into a home.
Moorman now has five children and thinks his travel bug might’ve rubbed off on them. He said he always enjoys hearing about their travels.
“I have had the privilege of knowing Bill for 20 years,” Lori Tretter, municipal administrator of Bowling Green, said. She also serves as the Director of Safety for the city.
Tretter said Moorman has grown into his role during his years at the BGFD, from his time as a firefighter to a paramedic and now Fire Chief. She used the words “empathetic,” “kind” and “considerate” to describe Moorman.
The group of four decided they wanted to tour Europe, so they got on a double-decker bus in England and rode across the country.
Moorman said one of the best parts about traveling cheaply was he got to meet like-minded people, people from all around the world who were backpacking as well. On the bus, the group met some Israelis, so they decided Israel would be their next destination — but not without a few pit-stops.
Moorman also tries to emphasize the benefits of adventure and exposure to other cultures whenever he gives talks in front of young people.
Moorman said, “I had a good education in Australia, but I always say by best education, was my traveling.”
