Each year the Clear Lake Fire Dept chooses a firefighter who stands out in integrity and dedication to the fire department and the community. Assistant Fire Chief Chad McKay is the most recent to be chosen for this honor.

 

Firefighting is in McKay’s blood. His dad was a volunteer firefighter for 38 years before he retired, and McKay grew up going with him to the fire station and helping him work on the fire trucks.

 

As soon as he turned 18 he joined the volunteer fire department in his hometown of Meadowlands, MN, serving for a couple years before he left to attend college in St. Cloud. After graduating he and his wife moved a few times before settling in the Clear Lake area. 

 

McKay had always planned on joining another fire department, but wanted to wait until he had found a community where he and his wife wanted to stay. The Clear Lake area was that community, and nine years ago he joined the Clear Lake Fire Dept.

 

Speaking about McKay, Clear Lake Fire Chief Ron Koren said, “He’s very approachable for everyone, volunteers for everything and is there for everything. “

 

Normally firefighters serve for at least 10 years before they can be elected to be an officer. McKay was elected assistant fire chief after serving seven.

 

“That tells you a lot about him right there,” said Koren.

 

Each year everyone on the fire department is invited to nominate one of their peers for the Firefighter of the Year award by writing a letter explaining why they believe that person deserves the honor. All of the chief officers then go through the letters and make the decision on who is going to receive the award that year. 

 

“Chad was out of town when we made the decision, and we told him we had given it to someone else,” said Koren. “He didn’t find out he had won the award until we presented it to him at our appreciation dinner on Feb. 5.”

 

“Everyone on the department deserves this award just as much as I do,” said McKay. “People don’t realize the amount of dedication it takes to be a firefighter. You have to take care of a lot of things behind the scenes, like training, meetings, and keeping up with certifications.”

 

He stressed that it’s important to make sure you have a balance in your life, especially with your family. Early in your career you can live and breathe it and end up getting too involved. 

 

“At the end of the day if you don’t have the support of your family you don’t have anything.”

 

McKay said that he and the other Clear Lake firefighters have talked about why they made the decision to join and everyone has different viewpoints on it.

 

“For me it’s always been about helping people; looking out for your neighbors. When you can help someone who’s having the worst day of their life it’s worth it.”

 

The Clear Lake Fire Dept is looking for more people to join them as volunteer firefighters. If interested, call Clear Lake City Hall at 320-743-3111.