Muskogee Fire Chief Mike O'Dell looks upon his upcoming retirement with a set of mixed feelings, he said.
"I've been doing this for 30 years. There's always mixed emotions about leaving a job you've been at this long," O'Dell said. "I've put a lot of roots down. But I think I'm ready. A person just knows when it's time to move on and let someone else step into the role."
The City of Muskogee announced in a press release Wednesday that O'Dell would step down at the end of August. O'Dell was promoted to chief of the Muskogee Fire Department following the retirement of Chief Derek Tatum in January 2016.
City Manager Mike Miller praised O'Dell's tenure as fire chief.
“Chief O’Dell has done a phenomenal job and shown enormous dedication to his community and the department. I can’t thank him enough for his decades of service,” Miller said.
The retirement caps off 30 years with the Muskogee Fire Department. O'Dell's career began in 1989 after he decided to "give firefighting a try" while in college, the release states.
"I heard they were hiring, and I had a friend who I worked with another job who told me about it, so I put in an application. I was promoted from private to driver to captain, then to training officer, and then to chief," O'Dell said. "It's been a tough job, but it's a job that I've loved."
It's also a job that has morphed from strictly firefighting to a broader base of responses, O'Dell said.
"When I got started we didn't go a shift without a big fire," he said. "Now we got a lot more medical calls and a lot less fires than there used to be. Buildings are more up to code, things like that."
Still, the department has stepped up when major incidents have occurred. O'Dell listed his department's response to the May 13 fire at a Georgia-Pacific paper mill as a particular highlight of his tenure as chief.
"My men couldn't have done a better job with that," he said. "It was amazing to watch them."
Despite the stress and the things he's seen, O'Dell called firefighting "the greatest job in the world."
"You can ask any fireman and they'll tell you there are times they wouldn't trade for anything," he said. "The adrenaline, the excitement, and helping people. Ultimately, what we're here for is to help people."
As O'Dell's retirement approaches, the City of Muskogee is taking applications for his successor, the release states. They hope to fill the position by the time O'Dell steps down.
O'Dell has faith in the next person to take over as chief, he said.
"It's a great department, and I think the next guy will do great," O'Dell said. "As I leave, it is my hope that the MFD continues the tradition of excellence they and the men who came before them established, continue to perfect their craft, and never take this job for granted."
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