22-Year-Old Firefighter on Mission to Save Lives from Elkridge to Egypt

Although Lieutenant Brian Shipley will tell you that he puts on his pants just like everybody else in the morning, most people don’t wear those pants through burning buildings or shattered car windows.

Since he was 16 years old, Shipley has volunteered with the (EVFD). And boy is he active. In the past month, he’s fought two house fires in Elkridge—one on , where he was the first on the scene; another in the , where he was immersed in smoke so thick he could barely see. He was also involved in fighting a and a .

“I’ve seen a lot for being 22,” said the lieutenant, recalling a 2009 motorcycle accident on Interstate 95, where he and his crew found the driver’s body spread across four lanes of traffic.

Even when he’s not on duty, Shipley’s still got a life-saving instinct. Last year, he was in Burtonsville when a car accident occurred as he was having lunch. Before emergency personnel responded, Shipley had broken the car window to get inside the vehicle and cut the person out of the seatbelt to begin the rescue process.

What would’ve happened if he’d waited? “I wouldn’t wait,” he responded matter-of-factly.

Humble heroism is a family tradition. Shipley’s grandfather was a firefighter in Prince George’s County, his dad was a fireman in Washington County, and his mother was an EMT in Anne Arundel County.

Still, Shipley doesn’t think he does anything heroic. “I’m just a fireman,” says  the youngest lieutenant at the Elkridge firehouse.

This path is one he's been on since he joined the Junior program with the EVFD, training in emergency medical services and firefighting at the age of 10. 

“I’m all about fire, and fighting fire,” said the lieutenant, who estimates he spends four weeknights at the EVFD, after working full-time at his construction job. “But I also like medical calls, the more serious ones, because you feel like you’re making a difference.”

Now, Shipley is taking his expertise overseas. On March 21, he’s being deployed to Egypt with the Maryland National Guard.

For one year, he will be stationed as a 68W combat medic in a peacekeeping mission on the Sinai Peninsula doing missions around the Suez Canal.

“But it’s not set in stone yet—it’s subject to change based on what’s going on in the Middle East,” according to Shipley. “If there is no combat, then we will be observing specific points in Egypt and reporting any action….I'm more excited to go now that things are escalated; I’ll actually feel like we have a reason to be there.”

Regardless of the mission, Shipley feels he was born for the role he’s going to fill overseas. “I’m a medic. I fix people. That’s what I do,” he said.

Serving with the 1st battalion, 175th infantry regiment, 28th infantry division Shipley counts “I have 84 guys I have to look after. I’m going to live with these guys day in, day out and know what hurts and what doesn’t. It’s gonna be fun.”

Shipley, a lifelong Elkridge resident, signed up for the Army in 2007 after his brother was deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. “It was the right thing to do,” he said of enlisting. His brother, Staff Sergeant Benjamin Hinkley, who lives in Middle River, was supposed to be going to Egypt with him but broke his leg in late February while playing soccer with the Army.

While Shipley said he will miss the people in his life-- and those from the firehouse especially--he’s excited about his deployment. “I didn’t go into the Army to stay here,” he explained. “I signed up because my brother got deployed. I want to see the world, and I’m going to Egypt! Either I’m going to get to see a whole bunch of stuff or I’m going to watch the sand blow for a year.”

At the firehouse, Shipley's farewell is bittersweet.

"We at the Elkridge Volunteer Fire Department are going to miss him," said Chief Don Watson. "He is a great member and servant to our community. But his service to the United States is much more important to all of us. His family at EVFD wish him all the luck in the world and will keep him in our prayers."

In the absence of fire engines, Shipley knows one thing about the year ahead of him in Egypt: “I am going to ride a camel. It’s gonna happen—even if I get kicked off. There will be pictures on Facebook.”