First Responder Friday: Brother, sister first responders

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) – First responders often run in families, but not for the Cummings.

Zac and his sister, Madison, are the first members of their family to become first responders.

“When we were kids, we were definitely the ones looking out the window at the fire trucks and police cars going down the street,” Zac Cummings said. He’s a fire specialist with the Spartanburg Fire Department.

Madison Cummings is a Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office deputy, but she didn’t take a direct path into law enforcement. Madison studied criminal justice in college before veering off and getting her real estate license.

Six years later, she veered back to wearing a badge.

“I think I just wanted to finally go back to what I thought would be more fulfilling,” Madison told 7NEWS. “(to what) will make me more happy and what I had always dreamed of doing.”

Zac also started with a career outside of being a first responder. He was in the United States Navy for six years.

He also served as a volunteer firefighter near where he was stationed in Georgia.

“I was kind of hooked immediately. And as my last year in the military was coming to a close, I was trying to decide what to do next. And it just made sense for me to get into this as a career.”

Zac and Madison work in different parts of the Spartanburg area and haven’t met up on a call so far.

“With our different schedules, we probably see each other maybe once a week, but we do try to get together for family dinner,” Zac said.

And about those family dinners.

“I think the rest of the family leaves the room, as in all emergency services, there’s some dark humor and some gritty details that a lot of people don’t want to hear,” Zac said.

“We kind of veer off and realize we’ve gone down in a hole and we’re like, ‘I guess we should bring it back to some normal dinner talk,'” according to Madison.

Now that their career courses have been corrected, what’s ahead in their futures?

“I’m definitely trying to use my first few years of just learning and listening and watching and trying to decide what I’m good at so that I can be the most successful, but be happy,” Deputy Cummings explained.

Fire specialist Cummings told us, “I do look forward to be able to have the knowledge and experience to be able to lead. And I think that’s in the cards for me.”

Zac is married with two children. Madison told us she’s getting married this year.

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