FULSHEAR, TX (Covering Katy News) - Herc Meier has retired as chief of the Fulshear Simonton Fire Department after more than 50 years of service and his story of going from volunteer to chief is classic.
Meier didn’t initially plan on becoming a firefighter, but his path changed at the age of 15, when a friend ran to him asking for help with a house fire.
“There’s a house on fire up on Pool Hill, and there’s no fireman in town, you want to go?” Meier recounted on a video about his career.
What happened next would set Meier on a lifelong career as a firefighter. He jumped into a fire truck and headed to extinguish a house fire.
“We opened the door, I jumped in, I started the truck, put it in drive, and started moving. As I looked down on the dashboard, there was a big red button, and I pulled that button. There’s a little red light starting going around and around, so I knew that was working.”
Meier and his friend fought the flames until more experienced firefighters arrived.
Two years later, at age 17, Meier was elected chief of the Fulshear Volunteer Fire Department. He remains humble about how that happened.
“About five of us were in the room; three of them worked out of town, and I was the only one left with a driver’s license, so they made me the boss,” he said.
According to the department’s website, the Fulshear Fire Department was founded in 1963 after a fatal house fire. In 1975, it became known as the Fulshear Simonton Fire Department.
At the time, Fulshear had a population of just 400. Meier led a team of volunteers and helped modernize the department, building its first fire station and acquiring the community's first real fire truck.
Today, Fort Bend County ESD No. 4 serves more than 80,000 residents across 106 square miles.
By the time of his retirement, Meier oversaw six fire stations, two assistant chiefs, four battalion chiefs, 16 shift captains, and more than 48 firefighters.
As the area evolved from a small town of 200 to a rapidly growing community, Meier guided the department through each phase of that growth.
"If I had to say what I would miss about the fire service the most, it’s gonna be the people that I worked with, the camaraderie,” Meier said.
"I have to thank every volunteer, citizen, and volunteer I’ve come in contact with," he said. "You all make me who I am today. I want to thank all of the people who are driving it forward, keeping it moving.”
His successor is Doug Boeker who also began as a volunteer firefighter, and has risen through the ranks, concluding his time with the Sugar Land Fire Department before coming to the Fulshear Simonton F.D.
"I wish you all of the blessings that I have had," Meier said. "They (the memories) go back 50 years, and I pray that you are as blessed as I have been.”
Mayor Don McCoy
Fulshear Mayor Don McCoy presented this proclamation to Chief Meier at his retirement ceremony.