‘My honor and pleasure’

SOAP LAKE — Grant County Fire District 7 Chief Kirk Sheppard is set to retire on Sept. 16. Sheppard is hanging up his helmet after a total of 28 years in fire service, 24 of those as chief of GCFD7.

“I truly believe that it was my honor and pleasure to support the community,” said Sheppard.

Sheppard said helping the public has been his favorite part of his time at GCFD7, seeing what the need is and trying to fill the need for the public.

Sheppard said firefighting wasn’t a part of his plan. He initially went into the Marine Corps. After five years he was discharged and one of his brothers-in-law was the chief of GCFD7 and asked him to join. He did that for a couple of years and said he decided to go back into the military. He retired after his second round in the military with a total of 21 years in the Marines.

“I dedicated 21 years to the United States people, supporting and defending the Constitution,” Sheppard said. “And here I hope that the citizens in my jurisdiction felt that they got a fair shake and that I was honest with them and that they got the best service we could try and give them.”

When he retired from the military, a different brother-in-law was a commissioner of District 7 and asked him to come back.

“His exact wording was, ‘They need some adult supervision. Would you consider joining the volunteer fire department?’ So I was like, ‘Sure.’” Sheppard recounted.

A year later, he was made chief.

Volunteer firefighter Jane Chambers said she is going to miss working with Sheppard because of his organizational and task-oriented nature, and his patience and care for the team’s safety.

Jane’s husband, Josh, is also a volunteer firefighter with GCFD7. Josh said he has appreciated Sheppard’s leadership and guidance over the past five years he has been with GCFD7 and for making sure they are prepared to handle challenging calls.

“Just the way his eyes would sparkle when he would hand out awards on awards night every year,” Josh Chambers said, is one of his favorite parts of working with Sheppard. “Seeing him excited for firefighters that were showing improvement and growth in the department.”

Sheppard said he was glad to have seen the department grow from a small group of volunteers to what it is today.

“We were pretty humble-looking when I first took over,” Sheppard said. “I’ve seen it go from eight people and 30 calls a year to 24 people and 500-plus calls a year.”

He is proud to have helped the department upgrade its equipment over the years.

Getting the EMS program up and running and improving the training of the volunteer firefighters are what Sheppard said he is most proud of doing during his time as chief with GCFD7, though.

Over the years, Sheppard said, they have worked with four to five different ambulance services before starting their own EMS service. They still plan to contract with American Medical Response - also known as AMR - for calls but are excited to be able to provide for the Soap Lake community internally.

“We’ve had to adjust our support of the community based on the need of the community,” said Sheppard.

Josh Chambers said he feels Sheppard is the reason the department has been able to be consistent in their responses, especially on the EMS side is because of his spearheading that program.

“He has been the catalyst,” he said. “We couldn’t have done (it) without him.”

Josh Chambers added that Sheppard has left a lasting legacy at GCFD7.

Sheppard said if he could change anything about his time with District 7, he would have run a better recruitment and retention program. While the department has grown and has been able to get a decent number of recruits to come in; it has been hard to get them to stay, he said. That has put the district in a tough spot when it comes to consistent staffing. It has been his biggest challenge as chief.

“That's our one downfall right now is that we are so short-handed,” said Sheppard.

Despite that, Sheppard said he is really happy with the crew he has now and will miss them a great deal.

“If I gave some advice to the next incoming chief, I would say be patient,” Sheppard said. “Look the whole department over, make an honest evaluation of strengths and weaknesses and then adjust your plan from there.”

Sheppard, who turns 66 in September, is not the only one retiring. His wife Patricia, who is the secretary for the board of commissioners for GCFD7, is retiring at the same time. Sheppard said he is excited for the two of them to have more time for family and to pursue hobbies and interests they have not had time for.

“I’m not sure I’m going to slow down, even,” said Sheppard.

Firefighters and staff in the department said they would miss Sheppard as much as he would miss them.

“This is truly a bittersweet moment for our fire department family,” said GCFD7 Deputy Chief Viktor Bragar. “Sweet because Kirk deserves a break and has dedicated more than two decades of selfless sacrifice to this community. The bitter part is that we are losing years of knowledge and experience. Kirk was the jack of all trades and literally did everything for the department. His commitment and dedication is irreplaceable and it's hard to find people who are willing to commit and volunteer simply for the good of the community.”

Rebecca Pettingill may be reached at rpettingill@columbiabasinherald.com.

A public goodbye:

GCFD7 will hold an open house for the public to express their appreciation for Chief Kirk Sheppard and his wife, Patricia. Those wishing to express congratulations may stop by the GCFD7 firehouse at 155 Highway 28 W, in Soap Lake on Sept. 15 starting at 2 p.m.