MOORE HAVEN — Like a tree sending out new growth in all directions, Glades County Firefighter/EMT Robert Smith has been cultivating a solid, well-rooted career by branching out to capture other opportunities over the past decade or so.

Regular Lake Okeechobee News readers may remember reading about him before. This ambitious young man, born in Arcadia, was the subject of a “Meet the Firefighter” story in these pages back in December 2018 when he was “cutting his teeth,” so to speak, as a youthful forest ranger with the Florida Forest Service (FFS) while working also for All County Ambulance.

During that time he’d just completed emergency medical technician training and become a student at Indian River State College for a Firefighter II certificate. Three years before he’d gotten certified as a wildland firefighter and joined FFS. He was also volunteering with Okeechobee County Fire Rescue. All this time, during his 20s, he even found time to aid in the FFS’s fire prevention education efforts, teaching kindergartners and first graders. He loved engaging in those classes with his FFS crew (especially the Smokey Bear programs), saying they were very entertaining and that it was amazing to him how knowledgeable children so young can be.

Smith said he left the FFS in December, and “Some things have changed since then.” Understatement: He’d only recently married his wife, Leticia, and they’d just had a chid, Emilia Rose, now 10 months old.

“I now work for GCFR as a firefighter/EMT as of December 2019 and I am currently enrolled in South Florida State College in their paramedic program (in January) and pursuing law enforcement thereafter. I want to become diverse in the operations aspect of public safety,” he explained.

He’s dedicated not only to his career advancement and to his new family but also to his community.

“I really enjoy serving the community in which I work, whether it’s making them a peanut butter sandwich to taking their trash out or mowing their grass. I enjoy staying active and training all the time. I want to make a difference in the community,” said Smith.
He lives in Okeechobee with his wife and baby and will turn 31 next March, and is still a volunteer for OCFR (since 2016).

To earn more money for supporting his new family, on his days off from the firehouse(s) “I now just work for All County Septic and Plumbing located in Fort Pierce.

“Of course, I also make time to spend with my family and enjoy a good vacation every once in a while,” Smith added.

He’s come a long way from the little tyke who always wanted to help with the burn pile when his dad used to dispose of yard waste that way, and then “secretly would set his toys ablaze until one day he got caught and disciplined.”

Now his daily mission, he said, is:
“Everyone I come in contact with, I hope to bring a smile to their face.”

Cathy Womble contributed to this story.