A Mecosta County firefighter is retiring after 62 years on the job.
Marv Bell joined the Stanwood, Mecosta, Austin Township Fire Department in 1962 before being named chief in 1977, a position he held until 2014.
“I didn’t have a choice. They appointed me in there. It was as a simple as that. Very simple as that.” Bell said the previous fire chief moved to Grand Rapids, “and he handed me his badge when he left.”
There have been some difficult moments through the years.
“Whenever you have a serious fire with a death or anything, that stays with you for life. I fell through the floor once. I was very lucky. That was a basement house at one time, so I landed on the roof of the old basement house. But I went down about three [feet],” said Bell.
There have also been a lot of changes.
“When I first joined, we never hardly ever entered a structure fire to put it out from the inside. It was always through the doors. and break windows, and that type of thing. My first set of gear that I bought when I was chief for about $100. You could buy a pair of hip boots, a coat and a helmet, and now you can’t buy gloves for $100,” said Bell.
But through all the years, Marv says there’s been a single constant.
“You have to have people to talk to. You have to have a supervisor you talk to. You have to have other people that you can talk to. My wife put up with that for 60 years we’ve been married,” said Bell. “It’s a tough job. You have to have help. It’s nights and weekends, and it’s hard to do that when you’re working and you’ve got any sort of family.
But, said Bell, “Am I going to miss it? Yes, I’m going to miss it.”
You can help celebrate Marv’s career Saturday afternoon, March 23, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Stanwood Eagles.
