Siren Song

North Carolina pumper Joshua Branscome helps save lives in his spare time … as a full-time paramedic
Siren Song
Joshua Branscome on the job with Stokes County Emergency Medical Services

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When Joshua Branscome isn’t saving homeowners’ septic systems, he’s helping save lives. The owner of B & M Septic Tank & Drain Service Inc. doesn’t see many days off. Instead, Branscome, of Lawsonville, N.C., works four days a week as a pumper/installer, and the other three as a paramedic for Stokes County Emergency Medical Services.

But he’s not complaining—it suits him. At 24, he’s already logged a decade in pumping and six years of emergency services work. He loves what he does, can’t stand to sit still, and manages to fit in quality family time around all that activity.

Branscome met his wife, Misty, when he was 17, and they got married three years ago. She already had a daughter, Lauren, 9. Together, they have Savannah, 5, and Trey, who will be 3 in June. “I was 19 when Savannah was born,” he recalls, “so I had a family I had to provide for. I was bound and determined I wasn’t going to ask anybody for help.”

A determination for hard work came early for Branscome, and it comes in handy with his incredible schedule.

 

STARTED OUT YOUNG

Branscome went to work for his aunt and uncle at age 14. He helped out in summer, pumping tanks, shoveling rock for septic system installs and washing trucks. His uncle died in 2004, and the following year his aunt asked him to take over the installation side of the business.

Just 18, Branscome became the crew foreman. “I was extremely scared,” he recalls. “But I was lucky. The company had a good reputation and I figured if I just kept up that same quality of service, I’d be OK.”

He says even in the current economy, B & M is doing well. “We’re fortunate to have large maintenance contracts with the local school system. People are opting to repair rather than replace broken systems, so there’s more of that than new installation. But we’ve always got at least one truck running.”

Branscome has expanded service offerings with the addition of about 60 portable restrooms, mostly standard units from PolyPortables Inc. and Satellite Industries. He contracts the portable sanitation service with another pumper.

B & M runs two trucks, both 2000 International 8100s built out with steel tanks by Abernethy Welding & Repair. The first has a 2,100-gallon tank with a Masport HL15 pump. The second carries a brand new 3,200-gallon tank and a Masport 400 pump.

 

THE AMBULANCE CALLS

Branscome joined the local volunteer fire department in 2005. A bunch of his school friends were also members, there and for the Stokes County EMS.

“They told me I’d enjoy (EMS) if I joined, and I fell in love with it. But at that point it was just a hobby. Now I’ve had my paramedic certification a year and a half,’’ he says. “I realized if I went to work for them full time, I’d get a retirement plan and health insurance benefits.’’ With a schedule of one day on and two days off, he’s considered a full-time paramedic.

Branscome put in two years of EMT and paramedic training – two nights a week – and an occasional Saturday evening. Then came clinical internship, 250 ambulance hours plus 150 hours of hospital duty, none of it paid.

“I didn’t sleep much then,” he says. “But if you know your family depends on you to do something, you get it done. My wife and I wanted her to be able to stay home to take care of the kids, so we made it happen.”

Typically, his paramedic day starts at 6:45 a.m. During downtime between calls, he takes care of septic billing and administrative tasks. He likes the idea that his paramedic work saves lives, and loves the technology that goes into pumping, which he still considers his first love. “I love to diagnose each problem and nothing’s ever the same. It’s what I plan on doing for the rest of my career.”

 

A JUGGLING ACT

When Branscome’s on the ambulance, his pumping company crew of one full-time and three part-time workers take over. Branscome rarely takes a day off at this point, with the exception of a week of family vacation.

His two pursuits clash occasionally. “If we have a whole lot going on with installing or pumping, it can be hard to schedule the two trucks. We’re lucky, most of our customers understand, as long as we don’t promise what we can’t deliver. If we tell them we can’t come a certain day, they know we’ll be there as soon as we can. We have to schedule the large jobs around my schedule because I want to be there for major projects.”

What about some professional/personal balance? “I’d like to think my business is family-oriented,” Branscome says. His kids frequently visit his backyard shop. “If I’m outside working, my kids are with me. I love having them around.”

Branscome admits he won’t be able to keep up this frantic pace forever. “If the economy ever gets straightened out to where we could do 2-3 installations a week like we used to, I’ll probably go back to part-time with the EMS,” he says.

And he realizes his double work life isn’t for everyone.

“You have to ask yourself if the time you spend away from your family is worth it,’’ he advises. “Make sure you really enjoy your work, because you’re going to spend a lot of time at it. If you do that, it’ll work for you.”



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