The city council recognized Fulkerson, a third-generation firefighter, as the 2016 South Oklahoma City Kiwanis Club Firefighter of the Year earlier this month at city hall.
As spokesman for a department that values prevention, where "the best fire is the one that never happens," he is expanding the department's social media following with action videos, cautionary tales, and even poetry.
"Give me my soapbox on this, I won't get out of here," Fulkerson said after the mayor invited him to plug fire safety and handed him a microphone at the Jan. 3 ceremony.
Fulkerson, 43, grew up in Crescent, the son and grandson of firefighters. He began with the Guthrie Fire Department in 1993 and joined the OKCFD in 1997.
He became the Fire Department's spokesman about 18 months ago.
The Firefighter of the Year resolution cites his "extensive … accurate and beneficial" work maintaining and growing the OKCFD's Twitter and Facebook accounts.
Under his watch, the department's website has been updated, the resolution says, to "make it more interactive, providing timely and important public safety information to residents."
Some of Fulkerson's most important work has been with kids.
Children's safety
The department's safety trailer is assigned to the public education unit. Fulkerson served three years in public education, as a captain.
The two-room safety trailer stops at every elementary school each year, and second-graders come outside for a 20- to 25-minute "field trip" and introduction to fire safety.
In the kitchen, children learn to be careful around the stove and to avoid poisons in household products. Firefighters cover slip and fall hazards, matches and lighters.
In the bedroom, children put their newly learned knowledge about smoke detectors and escape strategies to use as a fog machine fills the room with "smoke."
Children are attentive pupils and quick learners, Fulkerson said.
Word gets back to the department with stories of how students put their new knowledge to work — for instance, calling a teacher when they spot a lighter on the playground.
"They're listening," he said, "and it works."
Fulkerson said his time in the public education office helped him become comfortable speaking in front of groups. That's where he "learned a ton" about OKCFD's commitment to safety.
The department's annual goals include visiting every elementary school in the city, doing safety trailer "field trips" for more than 6,800 second-graders.
A top priority is "Project Life" to distribute and install smoke alarms for free. The department estimated nearly 2,200 smoke alarms were provided in fiscal 2016.
The city council recently passed an ordinance requiring every single-family residence to have smoke alarms, removing an exemption for existing homes.
Fulkerson's social media efforts are building an audience — and with that, the expectation that reductions in deaths and injuries can be achieved through greater awareness.
Facebook poet
The serious — videos of urban rescue training exercises, for instance — run alongside lighthearted fare, such as the recent rescue of a cow from a backyard pool.
Videos tend to get a few dozen views.
The story of firefighters, animal control officers, police and a tow-truck driver teaming to lift the cow to safety, though, had 2,400 YouTube views in the first few hours.
Fulkerson gives his videos a soundtrack, drops in the occasional inspirational message, and even takes a turn as the department's poet laureate.
His verse greeting the new year a few weeks ago began, "A year of ups, a year of downs/2016 brought smiles and frowns."
The goal? Keep Twitter and Facebook accounts fresh while highlighting "all the great things our firefighters do," he said.
Family ties
Fulkerson's grandfather on his mother's side joined the Oklahoma City Fire Department in 1943 and served 20 years. His father put in 20 years as a firefighter in The Village.
So, did little Benny Fulkerson dream of being a firefighter when he grew up?
"I was not that kid," he said. "I never in a million years considered it."
Fulkerson said he was immersed in sports and went to Oklahoma State University with the idea of becoming a certified public accountant.
After a year in Stillwater, money ran out. Family said, "You should get a fire department job."
So Fulkerson began a career that has included work as a dispatcher, assignment as the OKCFD's emergency management liaison and now, spokesman and battalion chief.
It began for him in Guthrie, as a 19-year-old not that far removed from Crescent High School, learning from the old hands around the firehouse.
"I grew up very quickly in those four years with the Guthrie Fire Department," he said.
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