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MILWAUKEE – Despite life dealing him a bag of lemons, Matthew Bazemore opted instead to make lemonade.

In 2011, the Northampton County native was diagnosed with Juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma (JPA), a rare childhood brain tumor. As it is in most cases, Bazemore’s tumor is benign, but it has damaged his optic nerve, leaving him with vision abnormalities.

Now, 14 years later, Bazemore’s vision difficulties remain, but that hasn’t stopped him from living a normal life as a husband, father, and holding down a full-time job.

And, oh, by the way, he’s also a volunteer firefighter.

What the tumor failed to do was ruin Bazemore’s positivity. With courage and determination, he tackled life head-on.

He graduated in 2019 from the Governor Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh. He then landed a job with LC Industries in Durham, a company, founded in 1936, that employs the visually impaired and manufactures a wide array of products, including mattresses, medical knitting, file folders, custom stamps and housewares.

Bazemore started out on the manufacturing end of the business before being promoted to the distribution center.

He lived in Raleigh, using taxi cabs, Uber, and public transit buses to travel back and forth to his job.

“That made for very long days. I had to be at work at 7 a.m., so I would have to leave my apartment at 5 a.m.,” he recalled.

He remains employed today with the same company as a Customer Care Coordinator. That job allowed him to work remotely, so he moved back to Milwaukee, NC in 2023.

“They’ve been mighty good folks to work for,” Bazemore said. “I was the first one in the company to work remotely and today I also help train others to work from home.”

Just recently, Bazemore flew to Mississippi for a week-long work session with one of LC Industries’ customers.

In 2023, Bazemore became a husband. One year later, his wife Naomi made him a father with the birth of their son, Steven-Lewis Bazemore.

“My son is everything to me. Me and him make music together. He makes noises that I record and I mix it with sounds from my keyboard,” Bazemore said.

Besides Naomi and Steven-Lewis, Matthew has found another “love”….that of being a firefighter. He joined the Woodland Volunteer Fire Department in December of 2023.

“I’ve always admired those who volunteer and put their lives on the line to protect lives and property. I tried to join the fire department in Raleigh, but was denied,” Bazemore said.

Another major factor led Bazemore to become a first responder. He, his wife, his oldest son (Leo), and his mother were involved in a severe motor vehicle accident in Northampton County where numerous first responders rushed to the scene.

“I remember how scary that was and how it made me think of how those that came to the scene did their jobs and helped us out,” he recalled. “I wanted to have the same heart for others that those people did that rushed to help us.”

But still there remains the stereotypical barrier to overcome….a first responder that is visually impaired.

“Matthew has the upper hand on us,” said Woodland VFD Chief Chris Collier. “When we go inside a home or business that’s full of smoke, it limits our vision. Matthew is already accustomed to that, so he has to rely more on his senses and more on sound, which are critical to a firelighter in situations where their sight is limited due to the conditions.”

Collier added that Bazemore, in his short time as a firefighter, has already learned how to operate the pumper (fire engine).

“You can’t put a fire out without an engineer running the pumper,” Collier said. “He was able to memorize all the levers and then learned the different sounds the truck makes when it circulates the water. He can put his hands on the hoses and feel them pulsating, which lets him know about how much water pressure they each have. He can communicate with the guys at the end of the hose and acts accordingly when they call for more pressure on the hose or to throttle it down. He’s amazing to watch.

“Matthew is the type of person that will do anything that is asked of him. He doesn’t shy away from anything,” Collier added. “Everybody was in agreement the night we voted him in and he has been an asset to our department ever since.”

Bazemore has also provided another intangible to the Woodland VFD.

“He’s an inspiration to everybody,” Collier said. “To see somebody with that much willpower is amazing. I know what I’m capable of, and then you see Matthew doing the same thing despite his restrictions. I told the guys if Matthew can do it, there’s no reason why we can’t do it. Matthew has strengthened our fire department. He’s made us better.”

In addition to his firefighting duties, Bazemore is also a trained First Responder for Basic Life Support and has completed Technical Rescue (high angle rescue and vehicle extrication) training. He is also a member of a newly organized Land Search and Rescue Team in Northampton County. He successfully completed a two-week course and the practical applications offered through North Carolina Emergency Management. One of the applications is how to survive in the elements for 48 hours.

“Even the state instructor for that specialized training was in awe of Matthew,” Collier said.

While Bazemore has overcome many obstacles, does he think his life is better now?

“Probably so,” he answered. “What happened to me matured me faster. I’ve got a better head on my shoulders. If I ever got my sight completely back I don’t know how I would react. I think I’m okay just as I am.”

His sight remains unchanged. The tumor still applies pressure to the optical nerve. Previous rounds of chemotherapy were used in hopes of reducing the size of the tumor, but that hasn’t worked out as well as initially hoped.

“An optic nerve is like your spine, it doesn’t regenerate,” he said.

Bazemore remains steadfast in living a normal life.

“I’m determined to prove that I can function as a normal person can and proving those wrong who doubt me. I don’t like to be doubted. You don’t have to babysit me. I can handle life,” he stated.

How would he encourage others to become volunteer firefighters?

“What better opportunity do we have to help save someone’s life or their home,” Bazemore responded. “There’s nothing better than that, to put all the training to good use and leave that scene knowing that everybody is okay. That feeling keeps you going.”

This past December, Bazemore was honored with the Woodland VFD’s Chief’s Award.

“That was a no-brainer,” said Collier.

“I thank Chief Collier and the Woodland Volunteer Fire Department for giving me this opportunity,” Bazemore said. “I told the Chief and the members if they voted me in, they wouldn’t regret that decision. I plan to keep working to become a better fireman.”

“When you have firefighters like Matthew Bazemore, it gives you the courage and the confidence to charge towards hell with a water pistol,” Collier closed.