For Chief Steve Hirsch, his department’s response to a fatal Christmas fire reminds him of the dedication and compassion of the nation’s volunteer fire service. Leadership isn’t always about rank, sometimes it’s about putting your heart into whatever you’re doing.
Chief Steven Hirsch
Steven “Steve” Hirsch was introduced to the fire service at age 1 when his father began the rural fire district at Simpson, Kansas. He began his own volunteer fire service career in 1987 and serves as Training Chief of the Sheridan County Fire Department at Hoxie, Kansas and provides training to Grinnell Fire Department and Thomas County Fire District # 4 at Rexford.
He was Secretary of the Kansas State Firefighters Association from 2000 to 2019 and has been 1st Vice President of the Kansas association since 2019. He began serving as the Kansas director of the National Volunteer Fire Council in the fall of 2005 and was elected as Second Vice Chairman in May of 2013. In May of 2015 he was elected as First Vice Chairman of the National Volunteer Fire Council. He and his wife of over 33 years, Anita, have two children who are both teachers, and has five grandkids. He is a graduate of Glasco High School, Kansas State University, and Washburn University School of Law in Topeka. He began his practice of law in 1987 at Oberlin and has a satellite office at Hoxie, Kansas. In 1988 he was elected as County Attorney in Decatur County and has been re-elected 7 times since. He serves as City Attorney for 18 cities in Northwest Kansas.
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