Way back in 1963, as he tells it, Steve Hirsch’s father traveled farm to farm in the rural areas surrounding Simpson, Kansas, to gather signatures in support of a rural fire district. He got the support of all but one of his neighbors, and the fire service was born. Hirsch was just 1 year old. Today he’s an attorney by trade, but his passion is firefighting. He’s the training officer for Sheridan County Fire District No. 1 – an all-volunteer fire department – as well as treasurer for the Kansas State Firefighters Association and chair of the National Volunteer Fire Council. There are plenty of incidents needing the fire department’s attention in Sheridan County, in northwest Kansas. “No. 1 is gonna be field grass fires, pasture fires, outdoor wildland,” he says. The department gets about 70 calls a year. The bigger job, though, might be ensuring there is a next generation of volunteer firefighters – in Sheridan County, in Kansas and nationally.
Read more: KLC Journal
