13-year Fire Chief Dave Sheppard to retire

Dave Sheppard, who has been serving the City of Havre for 30 years at the fire station, 13 of which he served as fire chief, is retiring at the end of the year.

"I'm excited for a change," Sheppard said. "I'm going to obviously miss my co-workers."

Sheppard took his current position in Aug. 1, 2001, after working as a firefighter and emergency medical technician for 17 years. He started working at the Havre Fire Department Nov. 15, 1984.

Before working at the station, he attended Montana State University-Northern. After graduating, he went to work for Big Bud Manufacturing, a tractor-building company, and when they went out of business, he worked road construction a couple years. Then, he was hired on at the fire department.

"It was a career job, which was pretty nice to have," Sheppard said.

Sheppard said that as far as his replacement goes, someone from within the department usually gets the promotion, but it is up to the mayor.

Havre Mayor Tim Solomon said he is definitely looking to hire from within the department, but has not decided who will take the position at the first of the year. The starting salary for a police chief is $53,460 a year.

"He's going to be missed by the city," Solomon said of Sheppard. "He was an excellent chief. I want to wish him well in retirement.

Sheppard said his career has been full of memorable moments, including delivering babies. Of course, there are some negatives to the job, he said.

"There's always some not so pleasant things that stick out in your mind as far as EMS calls," Sheppard said.

However, working at the fire department has been a good experience overall, he said.

One of the most difficult parts of his job is funding.

"Funding is always an issue," Sheppard said. "With a city the size of Havre, oftentimes, there's just not the funds that would be nice to have to buy new equipment and replace the equipment that's aging. I think that is probably the most frustrating part of the job."

He added that knowing what needs to be done and not being able to do it is something he is not a fan of.

He said some of the accomplishments he and his crew have made through the years outweigh the negatives.

"We've managed to secure several grants," he said. "We've gotten a few fire trucks of the years. I think we've made some good changes as far as our training goes."

One of the most important things they have been able to do, he said, is maintain a positive relationship with the city.

"I think we have a good relationship with the community, which is really important in this job," he said.

After Sheppard relinquishes his position to his successor, he is going to work part-time with Hill County as a coordinator for Disaster and Emergency Services, replacing Joe Parenteau, who move to Helena. He starts that position Jan. 2.

He said it is going to be a change from his current job, which has him sometimes working more than 40 hours a week

"The unknown is always a little difficult, but I'm looking forward to something different," Sheppard said. "I'm going to miss the people. I feel fortunate to have been able to serve the community for 30 years."