Longtime firefighter Morgan retires

Career spans 37-plus years at Republic Fire Department
A veteran Republic firefighter stepped down from duty after almost four decades of service to the community. Captain Lynn Morgan officially retired from the Republic Fire Department on Friday, June 28. He spent 37-and-a-half years with the RFD.
Morgan began working as a firefighter in 1987.
“I would run calls with my dad until I turned 18,” he said. “In 1988, I was commissioned as a volunteer firefighter. I volunteered until July of 2003, and that’s when I began my full-time career as a firefighter for the City of Republic.”
Looking back, Morgan credited his father’s and uncle’s influence for him becoming a firefighter.
“I was raised around it,” he said. “My dad and uncle were a part of the department for several years. I began to train with them and fell in love with it. When I graduated high school, I started testing for other departments for a career. But I never went to any of them because this is where I wanted to be. When the opportunity came about to be on Republic’s Fire Department, my wife encouraged me to follow my dream and apply.”
Decades of adventures
Morgan said he has accumulated several positive memories and has had some adventures during his time with the fire department.

“I can remember when I was younger the fire department had a cook shack at the Fall Festival and the community supported them,” he said. “I grew up and wanted to be there for the community. I also enjoyed riding in the parades and watching the kids cheer on the fire trucks. Probably the adventure that comes to mind is I ran a call of a plane that crashed out in the rural area. We spent two days putting out fires in the woods.”
Morgan said that members of the public should be aware that firefighters sacrifice a lot at times to serve the community. This same sacrifice, he said, unites the firefighters as a team.
“I wish people would understand that we spend 24 hours away from our family,” he said. “We might get to sleep all night but that is very rare. This is like having a second family that everyone cares about each other.”

More family time
While he will miss the work he did in the community, Morgan said he is looking forward to having more time to be with his family.
“I will miss the staff and working with neighboring departments,” he said. “I will miss helping the community and visiting the schools. The thing I won’t miss is not getting to spend time with family on holidays and special occasions. I will get to be there on all family occasions now.”
While he plans to spend more time with family and complete some projects around his home, Morgan said he is not completely leaving firefighting. He plans to pass on his knowledge to a new generation of firefighters.
“I will continue my passion for the fire service by teaching and evaluating,” he said.
Morgan also said he has seen many positive changes at the fire department over the course of his career.
“The Republic Fire Department was good to me through my 37-and-a-half years,” he said. “I have met a lot of good firefighters and have seen them advance in their career. I have seen the department grow from having fire trucks scattered all over town to having two fully staffed fire stations.”