Spotlight on Sierra Madre Volunteers 

Spotlight on Sierra Madre Volunteers is a new weekly column that will spotlight the people who donate their time to help keep their city ticking.  Check back each week to see which of the folks you work side by side with is being recognized in the latest edition.  Back to Sierra Madre Volunteers Main Page

Bill Messersmith -- The Constant Firefighter

Ask anyone in Sierra Madre, "Who's Fireman Bill?" The answer will come quickly, "Bill Messersmith."

As a child in Sierra Madre, Bill would hop on his bike when he heard the old fire horn (then located at 55 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. on top of the City Hall, Police Dept. and Fire Station). He would get as close to the fire as possible and rubber-neck until the fire was quelled. That interest in fire suppression has obviously carried over from his childhood years into his adulthood.

Being a firefighter was Bill's first volunteer job; he had joined the Sierra Madre Volunteer Fire Department in 1971, when he was 21 years old, and 38 years later he continues to be a volunteer firefighter.

During most of his service, Bill has held the rank of engineer with responsibilities of driving and operating the apparatus. In 1989 Bill became an Emergency Medical Technician so he could assist in providing Emergency Medical Service in Sierra Madre. A year later, Bill became a state-certified Firefighter 1, then eight years after that he was "Driver/operator 1A and 1B," another rung up the ladder of firefighting and equipment-handling.

But that wasn't enough activity for Bill Messersmith.

Turning back the calendar to 1991, Bill was instrumental in forming the Sierra Madre Volunteer Firefighters' Association, with the spin-off of handling donations and philanthropies of the department.  The group incorporated as a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit public benefit corporation. He has served as its president since 1992.

In 1999, Bill was asked to participate with a committee to form what would become the Sierra Madre Community Foundation a year later in 2000, and he has served as a Board Member of SMCF since its inception.

The Sierra Madre Chamber of Commerce recognized Bill as Sierra Madre's Citizen of the Year in 2002. And the Sierra Madre Rotary Club also honored Bill as a "Paul Harris Fellow" in recognition of his service in 2006.

Bill lost his wife Sue in January after a lengthy illness.  He has two married adult children and four grandchildren.

The local firefighter is a Broadcast Television Engineer and has worked since 1969 in the entertainment industry for the Motown Record Corporation, Trans-American Video, AME, he Fox Television Network and for the last thee years with the TV Guide Network.

As a volunteer, Bill is semper paratus. He's ever-present, always ready to help. If you're in a jam, just call "Fireman Bill." He'll get there very quickly and know immediately how to help. He's one classy volunteer.