EDITOR’S NOTE: Residents of Stephenville, and the rest of Erath County, are very fortunate to have many men and women who make their livings as public servants. The Flash would like to recognize these various firefighters, paramedics and law enforcement officers. They are Hometown Heroes! These people keep us safe and we owe them our thanks and our respect. THANK YOU!
By DAVID SWEARINGEN
TheFlashToday.com
STEPHENVILLE (August 2, 2016) – The Flash would like to start the recognition process with Stephenville’s very own, Jimmy Chew.
Chew is the Stephenville Fire Chief and currently serves for the Stephenville Fire Department as he has since December of 1970. He was born in Hico, but moved to Stephenville at the age of 3 and has lived here ever since.
He graduated from Stephenville High School in 1968 and has been married to his wife, Betty, for 40 years. Jimmy and Betty have three kids and four grandchildren.
Chew said when he first started working as a firefighter in Stephenville, a new firefighter learned by on the job training. And, he got to fight a fire on his very first day. After that day, he knew fire fighting was what he wanted to do.
Currently, Chew’s typical work week is approximately 45 hours, but his crews know, the chief is “always on call.”
He says that his favorite part about his job is the fine people he works with. It is reported Chew was the first firefighter on the scene at the Landmark Apartments fire back in 2006. This is believed to be the biggest fire in Stephenville’s history and it took more than two days to extinguish. He was also involved in the fighting of the Possum Kingdom Lake fire in 2011, which ravaged Young, Stephens and Palo Pinto counties.
With all this activity at work and being blessed with several grandchildren, Chew still finds the time to volunteer as well. He is a member of the Stephenville Optimist Club, Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors Club, United Way Board and he is the president of the Texas Fire Chief’s Association. He and his family attends the St. Brendan’s Catholic Church of Stephenville.
What a great job you guys do