Each month, Eagle Radio in Great Bend will recognize groups or individuals that make a big impact on our community. This Appreciation Month is highlighting the Great Bend Fire Department.
By KEN CARPENTER
Great Bend Post
Michael Smith didn't know he was going to be a Great Bend firefighter when he graduated from Great Bend High in 1987. It took him a few years to find his career path in public service.
Smith was working at an area packing plant in the early 1990s when he heard about the EMT class that was offered at the fire station.
"I'll take that just for the heck of it, just for the knowledge," Smith remembered. "You spend so much time up here [at the fire station] during class and ride alongs and all that kind of stuff...just kind of sucked me into the fire side of it. I got on volunteers here and was offered a job. That was in 1992."
Smith's new career had a challenging start.
"My very first fire was a 'flashover fire' with Rick Robinson and John Stettinger," Smith recalled. "They had already been here a long time so I kind of fed off of them. I thought I was going to die on my first fire with it flashing over like that. But those two remained calm which made me calm."
A "flashover fire" occurs when everything in a room reaches ignition temperature at the same time. The fire temperature can reach over 1600 degrees Fahrenheit.
In those early years, he also worked as a reserve deputy helping with the Barton County Sheriff's Department canine unit. In 1996, Smith moved over to the Sheriff's Department until his dog was retired in 1998. But the fire department came calling again. That year he returned to GBFD where he has served ever since.
Looking back, Smith talked about how tough a firefighter's job can be in a small town.
"We go to absolutely everything. Every ambulance call, every type of rescue call, every drowning, every grass fire, everything you go to. It's a lot," Smith commented.
He said the long-term stress of being a firefighter can be difficult.
"Your family goes to drive a couple of hours somewhere," said Smith. "The whole time they're gone and on the road, all these accidents that you've worked and all the trauma that you've seen and the destruction you've seen all come flashing back. And that's what you're thinking of the whole time they're on the road. It definitely has an effect."
But Smith has one major advantage that very few firefighters have.
"I'm extremely fortunate that when I got married, my wife was a certified firefighter in Dickinson County," he said proudly. "She was EMS director of southeast Dickinson County EMS. So I'm probably one of the most fortunate people because I can actually go home and talk to my wife about things and de-stress with her because she knows exactly what I'm talking about."
Smith said the City of Great Bend is very supportive of the fire department. He believes firefighters are well equipped to do their jobs.
"Even guys who are just hiring on, that have been looking around, will even tell you we've probably got some of the best equipment," Smith noted. "The City's done great. You're talking ladder truck. That's a lot of money."
Smith has reached a point where he is feeling the physical strains of the job.
"You still like your job. It's just me getting older, gaining weight. It's just not as fun as it used to be," Smith reflected. "When I was in shape, I loved it. I didn't want to do anything else. Now when you get older - to grandpa stage - grandpa can't do this all the time. I'm old and this is definitely a young man's game."
Michael Smith has seen plenty of change in the past 30 years, and he has plenty to be proud of in his long career as a public servant in Great Bend.
Read the previous Appreciation Month stories by clicking HERE.