SPRINGDALE — The city will lose 31 years of firefighting experience today when Ed Stith, fire marshal, finishes his workday.
Stith, 56, came to Springdale in 1986 after working as a firefighter in Washington and Prince William County, Va. He became a captain in 1994, a battalion chief in 2000 and took over as fire marshal in 2007. He replaced Kevin McDonald, assistant fire chief, moving from the training officer’s position.
“Ed based his actions on what was best for the needs of the community and of the department,” McDonald said. “That was the foundation for all his decisions.”
Mike Irwin, fire chief, said he wasn’t on the job long before he realized what an asset Stith was. Irwin was named chief last summer.
“Ed is very knowledgeable,” Irwin said. “He knows and does his job very well.”
Jim Vaughan, division chief, said he and Stith were rookies together.
“We called him 'D.C. Ed' because he talked about how everything was done in Washington,” Vaughan said. “He does have a wealth of knowledge. I wish I knew as much about hazardous materials as he does.”
Stith served as director of the defunct Regional Hazardous Materials Team for four years, he said. The team covered Benton and Washington counties. He was the director in 2001 when grants for more equipment became available after 9/11, he said.
“We had to do a lot from scratch,” Stith said. “We had to decide what equipment to purchase and were it should go for the greatest effect. That was a lot of late-night work.”
The incident that still weighs on Stith was the loss of a child in a fire on Berry Street, he said.
“A goal for me has been not losing another child because the residence didn’t have a smoke detector,” Stith said. “The department has worked hard to check to see everyone has a smoke detector.”’
Stith worked with the department’s fire prevention officers, both as training officer and as fire marshal, he said.
Changes in the quality of equipment the department uses is the biggest change Stith said he has seen.
“When I started, all we had in an ambulance was oxygen,” Stith said “The gear we wore was flammable. It’s much better now.”
Going to the beach is the only plan Stith has for now, he said. He would be open to another job, Stith said.
“Ed has been a true asset to the organization,” McDonald said. “We’ll miss him.”