“Thank you for your fearless service and dedication to serving our community for 48 years,” a Pratt dispatcher said over the radio. This was part of Pratt Fire Chief David Kramer’s final call Wednesday night as dispatch thanked him for nearly half a century of sacrifice for the town. Kramer hangs up his hat leaving behind a legacy that the community will never forget. “He is probably more, or just as a father figure as my own father. He is probably all these guys’ father figure as well,” said firefighter Justin Garrett. Garrett is taking over the department, but he says he has big shoes to fill. Kramer’s love for PFD started as a boy watching the man he looked up to the most, his father. “I was born in ’55, and he started with the department in ’54. So that’s why I’m saying I’ve been around the fire department literally all my life,” Kramer said, showing us old photos. “That’s kind of a funny one. That’s my dad right there. It’s kinda funny, a guy with the newspaper used to be on the fire department too, and he would a lot of times take pictures.” As soon as Kramer was old enough, he joined the department, which is made up mostly of volunteers, and served for 23 years before taking the reins as chief. Forty-eight years later, Kramer spent his last day with the people he will always call family, including the only person who has been with the department longer than him – Deputy Chief George Stevens. “David and I knew each other before we were on the fire department,” Stevens said. “It’s just been a, like I said, a fun ride. I respect him, and will do that to the day we are not on this earth anymore.” As much fun as the team had Wednesday, it’s no surprise it got a bit emotional at times. “I can’t say enough how much I appreciate, and thank you guys, for your dedicated service to this department. And also to me personally,” Kramer said to the group. But the hardest part was something he wasn’t expecting. After passing the torch to Garrett, he got one last call from dispatch. Climbing into Engine One for his final ride with tears of mixed emotions in his eyes, dispatch paid him tribute on behalf of the countless lives in the Pratt community impacted by his legendary career.
Source: KAKE – News