10/07/2026
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Thoughts From a Fire Service Leader- by
Founding Outlaw Justin Levy
BE the positive change.
As many know, the fire service has been a huge part of my life.
I officially became involved in the fire service on October 5, 2006, with about five years away while serving on active duty in the United States Marine Corps. But really, the fire service was part of my life long before that. My stepdad was a member of my hometown volunteer fire department, so I spent a lot of time around the fire station growing up.
I still remember my first ride in a fire truck. It was 1996, during the 4th of July parade, riding with Jeff Sward.
Fast forward nearly 30 years.
Two years ago, I joined Southern Webster County Fire Protection District.
I’ll be the first to admit that after attending my first “training,” I told Chief Karlstromer the next day, “I’ll help you on the bigger incidents, but I’m not responding to the smaller stuff, and I’m not wasting my time coming to another one of those trainings.”
Was that the best attitude? Probably not.
But I also knew things could be better.
Instead of continuing to complain about it, I eventually decided to become part of changing it.
I took over the district’s training program while still serving as a firefighter. In July 2025, I was promoted to Deputy Chief and given responsibility for facilities, training, apparatus, and operations.
Then, in July 2026, I was appointed Fire Chief of Southern Webster County Fire Protection District.
Since stepping into leadership, have I made a lot of changes?
Absolutely.
Did we scrap roughly 75 old policies and rebuild our policies from the ground up? Yes.
Has our training program been completely reconstructed? Yes.
Have we had difficult conversations? Absolutely.
Have we lost members? Yes.
Have we gained members? Yes.
Have we raised expectations? Yes.
Have we given our officers the opportunity to actually lead, to make decisions, take ownership, and do their jobs without constantly waiting to be told what to do? Absolutely.
Has there been more buy in from our membership? I believe so.
Is there more pride in our district? I believe so.
Have we rebuilt?
Yes. And we’re still rebuilding.
None of this happened because of one person. It has taken officers willing to lead, firefighters willing to train, members willing to accept change, and people willing to put in the work when nobody was watching.
There are still things we need to improve. There always will be.
But one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned throughout my time in the fire service is this:
It’s easy to sit back and complain about what’s wrong. It’s a lot harder to step forward and help fix it.
You don’t have to be the Fire Chief.
You don’t have to be an officer.
You don’t need a title at all.
If you see something that can be better, bring an idea. If something isn’t working, help find a solution. If the culture needs to change, be the example of the culture you want to see.
Leadership isn’t just about rank.
It’s about taking ownership.
It’s about holding yourself accountable.
It’s about giving people the opportunity to succeed.
And sometimes it’s about making decisions that aren’t popular today because you believe they’ll make the organization stronger tomorrow.
BE the positive change.
Don’t just talk about what your department could be.
Help build it.
