Community Heroes: Meet Mike Smith

Name: Mike Smith         

Age: 44

Lives: South Whitehall Township

Job: Firefighter for the City of Allentown, stationed at Hibernia Fire Station         

Family: Wife, Cheryl (married 18 years); daughter, Christina, 16; son, Michael Jr., 13

Fire Company: Greenawalds, , a volunteer position.

Training so far: After being with the company 30 years, too extensive to list, including Hazardous Materials (HazMat) and Firefighter 1.

What’s it like being a firefighter? It’s exciting. You never know what you’re going to get into. Every call is different.

How do your loved ones feel about you putting your life in danger? Every time the pager goes off, they worry about it.

Tell us a story you’ll never forget about your firefighting experience: There are so many. My first fire was when Castle Garden at Dorney Park burned down [1985]. All three South Whitehall companies responded, along with Western Salisbury, Allentown, and I believe Wescosville. We were there from about 1 a.m. until the later morning hours. I remember because McDonald’s donated breakfasts for us.

What would you tell people interested in joining your fire company? We meet every Monday night. They should stop in and see what it’s all about. There’s a real bond between the guys. We don’t have any female firefighters at the moment; there were a few junior firefighters a while back, but my daughter will be joining this year.