Brett Fulton was an outdoorsman. He loved being in the woods fighting fire‚ hunting‚ or fishing. His love of putting out fires began when he joined the Division of Forestry in Lake City‚ Florida‚ in 1998 as an aluminum welder. In 1998‚ there were multiple fires started in our hometown area. He started being involved in fires as a parts runner‚ delivering parts to the dozer and truck operators so the machinery could be fixed.

Once a position as forest ranger/wildland firefighter was available‚ Brett applied and received his lifelong dream career. In 2003‚ Brett went to Nacogdoches County‚ Texas‚ to recover debris from the Space Shuttle that crashed and seven people lost their lives. He was in Texas for two weeks recovering what was left of the Space Shuttle. In 2005‚ Brett went to Louisiana to help the families and businesses that were flooded from Hurricane Katrina. He helped storm victims by supplying them with ready to eat meals‚ water‚ and ice. In 2006‚ Brett went to Oregon to help extinguish fires that were threatening people’s homes. In 2007‚ he spent endless hours fighting the Bugaboo Fire that threatened homes in his hometown of Lake City‚ Florida. On June 20‚ 2011‚ he lost his life trying to put out the Blue Ribbon Fire in Hamilton County‚ Florida‚ which was in the same area that his tower site was located. In a field of pine trees‚ the dozer he was operating became hung up on a stump.

Brett was born June 26‚ 1958. His family moved from Ohio to Wellborn‚ Florida‚ when he was three years old. He was very close to his mother and loved her dearly. He came from a large loving family of three sisters and one brother.

Brett was a wonderful‚ caring‚ and fun loving husband to Margaret‚ his wife of 32 years. He was a wonderful father to his daughter‚ Christina‚ and son‚ Brett Michael. One of his favorite pastimes was playing with his granddaughter‚ Sydney‚ and grandson‚ Luke‚ who cherished him. Brett loved dressing up in the Smokey Bear costume just to see the smiles on children’s faces‚ including his grandchildren.

He also found the time to mentor his nephews and good friends. He enjoyed playing basketball‚ Call of Duty on his Xbox‚ and watching the Florida Gators play football.