It’s the end of an era for the Onalaska Fire Department. Fire Chief Troy Gudie is turning in his fire helmet for a fishing rod.
What do you want to be when you grow up? Most kids will tell you: a firefighter.
Gudie didn’t think of himself as a firefighter – but his wife did.
“She found a newspaper article that was looking – it said Onalaska Fire Department is hiring part time, paid, on-call firefighters. She said you’re really good with people and I think you’d make a great firefighter. The joke in my head was, we were basically newlyweds and within a year, she was trying to get me another job," said Gudie. She was right. Gudie went on to become Onalaska’s first full-time firefighter. Firemen call Gudie the pulse of the department.
“Day in and day out, he is here and does more than he is expected of and is happy to do it," said Lt. Jason Veldboom.