Greg Shuster, assistant chief with the Cedar Hill Fire Protection District, is retiring this month, after 49 years with the district, and David Jones, who had been a battalion chief, has been promoted to fill the position.
Shuster said his last day on the job will be August 25, the day before his 65th birthday.
Cedar Hill Fire requires employees to retire before they turn 65.
“I rode it out until the end,” Shuster said.
Shuster, 64, of Dittmer has been with Cedar Hill Fire longer than any other employee in the district’s 71-year history, Chief Mick Fischer said.
Cedar Hill Fire was founded in 1950 as a volunteer department and became a fire protection district and started hiring full-time employees in 1971.
Shuster was 16 when he started as a volunteer firefighter with Cedar Hill Fire, and he was hired as a full-time employee in November 1975. He became assistant chief in December 2002.
Jones, 47, of Cedar Hill was promoted to assistant chief on July 5 so he would have time to work with Shuster before he left.
Shuster and Jones each are being paid a $64,500 annual salary. Jones made $52,750 a year as battalion chief.
Jones said he is “honored” to take over for Shuster.
“He’s got a good name and good reputation,” Jones said.
Shuster said Jones knows a lot about the district’s operations and is the “perfect person” to replace him.
“You want somebody who’s going to be a leader and he is a good leader,” Shuster said.
Fischer said he considers Shuster a mentor and is going to miss him.
“Even in my position as chief now, I still look up to him for advice and his years of experience,” Fischer said.
Shuster said he has enjoyed his time with the district.
“Firefighting is like a bug; once you get the bug you are hooked,” he said. “I actually wanted to be a conservation agent. Then, once I came down here, got started with the excitement here, that’s what I wanted to be.”
Shuster said he could have sought employment at another fire district and earned a higher salary, but he wanted to stay at Cedar Hill Fire.
“I never really had a desire to move,” he said.
During his nearly five decades with the fire district, Shuster has responded to a lot of calls with sad endings, but he likes to focus on the rewarding moments.
“When you save somebody’s stuff and you take it out to them and hand it to them, to you it’s just something, but to them it means a lot,” he said. “Or you get a thank-you letter; that’s always nice.”
Shuster said the biggest change he has seen during his tenure with the district is the turnout gear – the protective gear firefighters wear.
“When I joined, we didn’t have enough turnout gear to go around,” he said. “You were happy to get a pair of gloves and a helmet.”
Fischer said now each firefighter has National Fire Protection Association-accredited gear, which includes a coat, helmet, gloves, boots, bunker pants and a hood.
Shuster said he also has seen a lot of safety changes.
He said he remembers hanging onto the back of trucks on the way to calls, and now firefighters ride inside the cab.
Shuster said he will look for some type of part-time job to keep him busy during retirement. He also plans to spend more time with his two grandsons and do some fly fishing.
Shuster and his wife, Arlene, have been married for 43 years and have two children, Matt and Sarah.
Matt, who was a lieutenant with Cedar Hill Fire, was promoted to battalion chief. Matt was making $42,750 a year as a lieutenant and now is paid $49,250 as a battalion chief.
Jones said he joined Cedar Hill Fire 35 years ago, at the age of 13 as a junior firefighter. He was hired full-time July 28, 1995.
He said his dad, four uncles and many cousins also have been Cedar Hill firefighters.
Jones has been married for 23 years to Jaime, and they have two children, Dylan, a firefighter and paramedic with the Rock Community Fire Protection District, and Megan.
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