Christiansens reflect on father-son tradition of 'service above self'

By Leann Schenke
Posted 6/20/21

DOVER — For many families, nothing is more important than passing on traditions and values from one generation to the next — whether that be learning your family’s trade, memorizing …

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Christiansens reflect on father-son tradition of 'service above self'

Posted

DOVER — For many families, nothing is more important than passing on traditions and values from one generation to the next — whether that be learning your family’s trade, memorizing all the ingredients to the family recipe or being handed the keys to the family business.

For the Christiansens, volunteering is the family business.

“Our family motto has always been ‘service before self’,” Dover Mayor Robin Christiansen said.

It’s something Mayor Christiansen taught to his son Sean, who has in turn instilled that notion of service to others to his sons Troy and Chase.

For generations, the Christiansens have served their community by volunteering with the Dover Fire Department. Mayor Christiansen’s grandsons are now fifth-generation volunteers.

“From a young age, I’d go running into the fire station with (my father). Standing on the patio out there watching the trucks leave was always something thrilling. It inspired me,” Sean Christiansen said.

The Christiansens’ service to their community is not limited to fighting fires — Mayor Christiansen has served as Dover’s mayor since June 2014 having been first elected to the city council in May 1983. He served as city council president and vice mayor from May 1990 to 2001.

Sean Christiansen was elected to the Capital School District school board in 2013. He currently serves as vice president.

Given his experience volunteering as a firefighter within his community, Sean Christiansen said he knew he wanted to make a difference in his children’s education and had to get involved to do so.

“You can’t just sit on the sidelines,” he said.

“You want to make a difference. You want to make things better for your kids, obviously, but all the kids. The school district is the heart of the community.”

For Mayor Christiansen, the connection to his community that he developed through his volunteerism with the Dover Fire Department is what led him to seek political office.

“It’s a natural connection,” Mayor Christiansen said. “It’s a natural progression that if you’re serving your community here, the service extends beyond. I’ve kind of handed that down to my son and my grandsons.”

Troy Christiansen is now a graduate of Dover High School and plans to continue volunteering with the fire department. He is a qualified interior fireman, meaning he is able to fight fire from the inside out.

Both Troy and Chase Christiansen said they enjoy their time fighting fires because of the sense of community it offers. Keeping the family tradition alive is another aspect of their volunteer work that keeps them coming back to the fire department — that and the thrill of saving lives.

Troy Christiansen noted he enjoys every minute of firefighting.

Their father started volunteering with the fire department when he was 13 years old. He was able to make a career at the Dover Fire Department serving as past chief. He is currently the assistant chief.

For Sean Christiansen, following in his father’s example wasn’t a difficult choice for him to make.

“Follow in your father’s footsteps and it leads you to the right path,” Sean Christiansen said.

He said he prioritizes family, school or work, hobbies or sports, and then working at the firehouse — in that order.

“It is a job, but it’s a job that you do out of the kindness of your heart,” Sean Christiansen said. “You get out of it what you put into it, but it is very time consuming. It can become addicting because of the adrenaline rush, the camaraderie of the guys and girls that are here — they become your second family.”

Sean said training is essential to serving with the fire department. When he first started volunteering, the fire company made 400 runs a year. Last year, they made more than 13,000.

His sons were the top responders last year having made more than 1,000 runs.

Speaking to the importance of volunteering, he said it’s what “makes a community a community.”

“The ability to count on your neighbors that you know and that you don’t know for somebody to step up. It’s always for the betterment of your neighborhood before yourself,” Sean said. “Who else would go into a burning building or to a motor vehicle crash to rescue somebody you don’t even know unless you have a true heart of gold?”

Though their volunteerism is steeped in family tradition, the Christiansens all agreed anybody can and should volunteer if they are able to do so.

“Anybody that has ambition to volunteer is a special person,” Sean Christiansen said.

“So whether they do it here or the Boys and Girls Club, Habitat for Humanity, any type of volunteer organization — first, yes it’s self gratification. I’m helping my neighbor and my fellow man out. But, you’re going to volunteer because you want to be part of something bigger than you.”

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