A pair of brothers who grew up in Idalou, are now making an impact in the Lubbock Community by dedicating their lives to service.
Aaron Spann and Cody Nelson are not biological brothers, but the Spann’s adopted Nelson when he was a teenager.
“Tim and I,” Nelson said. “Who is our other brother, were best friends in school and I just started hanging around and I think when I was probably 13 or 14 years old, they fed me real well one day and I just kind of never went away.”
Spann said Nelson fit right in, and he did not mind sharing his room with the boy he nicknamed the cinder block.
“Just because of the way he is built,” Spann said.
After graduating from Idalou High School, Spann, Nelson and Tim became volunteer firefighters. After six years, Cody made the move to the Lubbock Fire Department, also becoming an EMT.
Spann spent some time in retail and then made his way onto the police force.
The men said they often see each other while on a call. While they both have dangerous jobs, Spann said Nelson can take care of himself and he does not worry too much. With tensions growing between police officers and the community, Nelson does not have the same peace.
“I want to have his back,” Nelson said. “I want to have everyone’s back who we are there with. It just kind of makes me, when it is your family member or somebody you really care about, you’re on edge a little bit more…I owe it to my family and his wife and his kids and he owes it the same to my wife and kids to make sure we get home.”
It is not just Nelson and Spann who have each others backs, their departments have grown closer too.
“You know the fire department and the police department,” Spann said. “We are family, we’re all family, including EMS. We do things that other people don’t, or don’t want to do. We enjoy it and we love our jobs.”
“I think fire and police,” Nelson said. “As a whole I think have kind of embodied each other as a brothership, as a family.”
