De Soto Rural Fire Chief Paul Mayer says a vivid image comes to mind when he reflects on his 43 years in firefighting.
“There are a lot of things I remember, but the fire at Home Service Oil (in Barnhart) on Christmas Day (1985) stands out,” said Mayer, 61, who is retiring at the end of the month. “I don’t remember the year. I was at Shady Valley (which would merge with Springdale in 2009 to become the Saline Valley Fire Protection District) at the time. We were assisting.
“As we were en route on Hwy. M, we could see the oil drums shooting into the air.”
He said a blaze that occurred in the 1980s in the city of De Soto is memorable, too.
“Then, there was the Commercial Hotel fire on Main Street in De Soto,” Mayer recalled. “Just the fact that it was an all-hands-on-deck fire. I was still at Shady Valley and they were calling people from around the county.”
Mayer said another incident embedded in his memory did not involve a fire.
“I remember looking for Shawn Hornbeck (a youth kidnapped in 2002 in Washington County) while at De Soto Rural,” said Mayer. “We were assisting Richwoods Fire back when he was originally taken. That was not only physically, but mentally, fatiguing, trying to figure out what happened. We got a call to do a search for a missing boy. It became … he wasn’t just missing.”
In January 2007, Hornbeck and another boy were found in a Kirkwood apartment, both having been kidnapped by a man later sentenced to 74 life sentences in prison in Missouri and 173 years in federal prison.
De Soto Rural Fire Assistant Chief Tom Fitzgerald will succeed Mayer when he retires.
Fitzgerald will see his salary increase from $66,900 to $70,000 when he becomes chief. Mayer’s salary is $74,000.
Mayer, who is part of a firefighting family, said his father, the late William Mayer Sr., also was in firefighting for 43 years, so he wanted to match that.
“I started at Rock Community as a volunteer,” he said. “My dad and several brothers retired from there. Dad retired as a deputy chief. My brother, Matt, retired as a chief and my brother, William Jr., retired as a chief. Two other brothers, Vincent and Gregory, were volunteers at Rock Fire. Another brother, (the late) Tim, never had an interest in firefighting.”
Mayer said his sisters did not go into firefighting.
“I have three sisters: Diann, Yvonne and Beverly,” Mayer said. “They did not become firefighters. It was a different world. There were women in firefighting, then, just not like today.”
Mayer said he has fond memories of the time he spent at Rock Fire.
“Every Sunday after church and breakfast, Dad would take us to the firehouse to look around,” Mayer said. “We’d get peanuts out of the penny machine in the firehouse.”
Mayer joined Rock Community in 1976 and stayed with the fire district in northern Jefferson County until 1982, all that time as a volunteer.
“I was still volunteering there when I got my first career (paid) job at Shady Valley in 1979,” he said. “I was with Shady Valley until September 1997. I was chief for 11 1/2 years at Shady Valley.
“I’ve been the chief at De Soto Rural since I came here in September 1997.”
He said he was a firefighter from the start, but added emergency medical technician to his title in 1982.
Mayer said he has been injured on the job.
“I had broken ribs,” he said. “It was at a brush fire. We were walking through thick grass and there was a poorly covered well with rotting boards on it. I fell through the boards. I also broke a finger on a (rescue from a vehicle).”
Mayer said physical limitations are part of the reason he’s decided to retire from firefighting.
“If you’re not physically fit, it’s a tough job,” he said. “I’ve got an artificial hip and problems with the other hip.”
Mayer said he already has begun a second career as he prepares to retire from the first.
“I got my real estate license,” he said. “I’m working for Realty Executives Five Star Homes in Festus. I’m on a team with the Jones Group. I’m having a blast doing it so far.”
Mayer also is a member of the Jefferson County 911 Dispatch Board of Directors, and his term runs through April 2020.
“I’ll consider running again for that,” Mayer said. “It’s a way I can continue to help.”
He and his wife, Geralyn, live in rural De Soto. They have three grown children.
Mayer said he will retire with peace of mind knowing De Soto Rural Fire is in solid shape. “I think I’m leaving it pretty well,” he said. “I know I’m leaving it in good hands.”
Fitzgerald becomes chief
on Sept. 1
Fitzgerald, 52, takes over Sept. 1 as chief of De Soto Rural, which has 16 total employees, including 12 firefighters. The district has six fire stations.
A professional firefighter since 1987, Fitzgerald said he got into the business as a youngster.
“I was a junior firefighter at Shady Valley in 1974,” he said. “I was 7 years old. I would carry flashlights.
“My father, (the late) Robert Fitzgerald, my grandfather, (the late) Quentin Miller and my uncle, Ronald Miller, all were firefighters.”
He has known Mayer for decades.
“He came to Shady Valley in 1979 when I was a junior firefighter and we have worked together ever since, except for a seven-year gap when he got to
De Soto Rural,” Fitzgerald said.
He said he hopes to keep the district going in the right direction.
“It’s an awesome opportunity,” Fitzgerald said. “I’m very proud to be selected to this position.
He and his wife, Tammy, live in rural De Soto with sons Robert and Timothy.