Township also honours long time Captain for his volunteerism

Heather Wright/The Independent

For over 50 years, when Watford firefighters called back to the hall, Terry Smith answered.

But that’s changed as Smith, the radio operator for the department, retired after 57 years of service. He and Capt. Don Hart, who joined the Watford department around the same time, were honoured at the Watford Fire Department Christmas banquet Nov. 30.

Smith says 57 years ago, members of the department visited the young men in Watford to see if they wanted to be on the department. “You’d have to wait until somebody died or quit or whatever,” Smith says adding living in town was a requirement.

He got the OK from his boss at the funeral home and furniture store and signed up for service.

Hart, who received the townships Volunteer Service Award says at the time, several firefighters had ‘fire phones’ at their home. When the call came in Hart would alert the other members by setting off the siren at the hall.

They also had to rely on their fellow firefighters because at the time, they didn’t have radios when they went into the burning buildings. That, the pair say, required a lot of trust.

“We looked after one another,” says Hart. And he takes pride in the fact that when they first started, firefighters tried to save the victims belongings. “We’d carry things outside and cover them up, or cover stuff up in the house to keep it from getting wet. The way things are now, way the furniture is changed, and everything just automatically takes fire so quick,” he says.

Smith, who is 81 and served as the treasurer for the firemens’ association, is ready to step away from the hall. Central dispatch now takes care of much of the work.

But Hart plans to continue on for a couple more years to work along side his son, Jim.
Chief Rick Sitlington says Smith will be missed.

The chief added he’ll be glad to have Hart continue sharing his knowledge with the younger members of the department.