When Paul McGill joined the Grandview Fire Department in 1965, Glenn Johnson was the fire chief, Rupert Ramsay was mayor and gasoline was about 29 cents a gallon.
Several decades later, McGill, now a captain, has worked with six fire chiefs under nine mayors, and gasoline prices sometimes surpass $2 a gallon.
Grandview recently recognized McGill for 40 years of service — 36 as a captain. “He's a great guy, but he's not used to being in the spotlight,” said Alan Dugan, a firefighter who has worked closely with McGill for nine years. “I think the whole recognition thing made him uncomfortable.”
McGill, 65, said he did not think his service was such a big deal.
“It didn't seem that long to me,” he said. “I just go to work and do what I love to do.”
The low-key response didn't surprise Dugan.
McGill, he said, is comfortable interacting with residents and helping them in emergency situations.
“It seems like he knows everybody in Grandview,” Dugan said. “At the store or restaurant, he's always running into somebody who knows him.”
Fire Chief Chuck Thacker said McGill enjoys his current rank.
“In order to be promoted to deputy chief, you have to apply and test for it,” Thacker said. “He never did. If you ask him, he'd say, ‘I like serving with the team.' ”
McGill said a promotion to deputy chief or a job as fire chief would have limited him to administrative duties, which he dislikes.
“Once you become chief, you're no longer a firefighter,” he said. “I like my job, and I still want to fight fires.”
Capt. Tom Marinan, who calls McGill probably the most-respected firefighter in the department, understands.
“He hates getting off the fire truck,” said Marinan, a 20-year department veteran in the department. “He prefers to be one of the guys rather than tell us what to do. He's as easy as it comes. He goes with the flow and adapts to every situation.”
McGill and his wife, LaVonne, grew up in Butler, Mo., and married in 1957. The same year, he joined the Marine Corps. After his discharge in 1960, they moved to Grandview, where they raised their two children, Paula McGill and Jana Miller.
“He's a wonderful father and a wonderful husband,” LaVonne said. “I can't think of anything I don't like about him.”
Over the years, she has figured out how to cope with his schedule and risky assignments.
“You have to have a lot of patience and be willing to spend a lot of time alone,” she said
After leaving the Marines, McGill became a construction worker, but work was slow, and he needed a second job.
“I had a family to support and I was ready to do any job,” he said.
A firefighter friend told him about the opening in Grandview, and McGill applied.
“We just had rubber coats, a helmet and a pair of boots that pulled up to our thighs,” he recalled. “Now we have an oxygen tank, a face mask and a lot of safety equipment.”
McGill glows when he talks about putting out fires.
“It's a thrill every day you go to work,” he said, grinning. “When you do it for so long, it's kind of fun. It's so interesting because no matter how bad the situation is, we can only make it better.”
He declined to talk about memorable incidents.
“Things have happened over the years that make you feel real good — from fighting fires to rescuing children with heads stuck in railings,” he said. “But it would seem as if you're bragging, so I rather don't. But it's not easier to fight fires now, only safer.”
To reach Eyobong Ita, call
(816) 234-7815
Distributed by the Associated Press
