The impulse provided a stunning realization of what Blake meant to the organization, according to three department leaders who gathered in an office at the fire station in Grandview on Wednesday — Chief Rusty Shoenfelt, Deputy Chief Tom Pringle and Assistant Chief Travis Lunglhofer.

“You know WWJD,” Shoenfelt asked, referring to the abbreviation for “What Would Jesus Do?” which expresses a moral reference guide. It was a bit like that with Blake for those in the department, he said.

“He was a sounding board for all of the membership, when someone needed to know (something) or needed help with doing the right thing for the right reason,” Shoenfelt said.

When there was turmoil, or an issue needing to be resolved, Blake was the default contact who almost always had the answer — or the means to get one, Pringle said.

Equipment belonging to Logan Township United Fire Company President Jeff Blake stands outside the fire station following his death Tuesday. Courtesy photo

He would provide guidance on work issues, family troubles and general life problems, often pointing out alternate ways of looking at something, or a compromise solution or middle ground, Shoenfelt said.

If Pringle had a problem with a young firefighter driving fast, and Pringle’s instinct was to berate the offender, he would nevertheless consult Blake, and Blake would counsel a softer approach, stressing the need for professional courtesy and a sit-down, where the speeder could explain himself, Pringle said.

Contemplating such a positive, non-adversarial approach would put Pringle’s mind at ease, he said.

It also made the department’s response less likely to alienate the young firefighter, and possibly to lose him to the service, Pringle said.

Shoenfelt himself got yelled at for driving fast as a young firefighter, but now the roles are reversed, the chief said.

Blake was passionate about the department and fully committed himself to all the tasks he undertook, the leaders said.

He never left things half done, and held others to the same standard, according to Lunglhofer.

Go all-in or don’t even get involved, Shoenfelt learned as a young firefighter from Blake.

Blake got involved with the department at its founding 25 years ago, according to Lunglhofer.

It was created by the combination of companies at Juniata Gap, where Blake served, and Grandview, where Lunglhofer served.

Blake was skeptical of the plans at first, but once he saw the benefits, committed fully, because he believed in the “bigger good,” Lunglhofer said.

Blake was a “father figure” to many at United, especially the younger ones, according to Shoenfelt.

“He was a mentor to me,” the chief said.

Almost every morning, he and Blake would chat about departmental plans and problems and how best to take care of them, Shoenfelt said.

Always, Blake’s focus was on how the department could best serve the township’s citizens, according to the chief.

But the talks weren’t all about business.

Sometimes they would let one another “vent,” Shoenfelt said, and afterward, they “always ended up in a better place.”

At fire scenes or department functions, Blake was attentive to the welfare of members, and would insist that anyone who seemed hurt or who was in distress get “checked out,” Pringle said.

It’s distressing to realize that on Tuesday he was in a situation where such help wasn’t available, they said.

“A tooth in the cog is missing,” Lunglhofer stated.

In addition to being fire department president, Blake was the township’s emergency management coordinator.

He provided great value to the township at no cost, said Logan Manager Tim Brown.

He was an excellent organizer, said police Sgt. Barry Fry.

No matter the situation or problem, he always seemed to know who to call, Brown said.

Moreover, people tended to answer his calls and work with him, Brown said.

When he entered the already-started planning for traffic and crowd control at the recent Miranda Lambert concert at Peoples Natural Gas Field, things got better, Fry said.

He became a mediator among the agencies involved — the Altoona Curve, the police, the fire service and the ambulance service, Fry said.

He was charismatic and personable, Fry said.

And while he tended to reserve judgment, he wasn’t afraid to share his opinion, according to the township officials.

If egos became a factor, he could smooth things over, Fry said.

He had a knack for helping guide people toward their own discovery of alternate perspectives — “reframing the way they (thought) about things,” Fry said.

For now, emergency coordinator responsibilities in the township will be on deputy coordinator Karen Hamel.

The board of supervisors will eventually appoint someone to the coordinator’s position, Brown said.

AMED Executive Director Gary Watters became acquainted with Blake 48 years ago, when they rode the bus together on their first day of seventh grade at Roosevelt Junior High School, at 12 years of age.

“We became friends ever since,” Watters said Wednesday.

Asked if he meant until Tuesday morning, Watters insisted: “We’re still friends.”

Over the years they experienced a lot together, including the deaths of their respective fathers at age 13, Watters said.

They each served as best man at each other’s wedding.

Their families spent time together, and they worked with one another with the Red Cross and the fire and ambulance services.

Blake was dedicated to improving those emergency services, and didn’t put up with excuses, and didn’t “take no for an answer” — when it came to doing things right or making improvements, Watters said.

Blake had no patience for unwillingness to answer emails about such things or for failure to send the closest unit available to an emergency scene, according to Watters.

“Sometimes his tenacity made him appear to be a pain in the ass,” Watters said. “(But) he always fought for what was best.”

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.