Firefighter Grayson Glueck of Chaffee, Missouri, started his first responder and firefighter volunteer career in Delta in 1993 the day he turned 18. He said the chief at the time was a family friend who asked whether he would like to join the fire department, not knowing he was only 17 at the time and had to wait a few weeks to join.

Glueck now volunteers at Chaffee Fire Department and has since 2003, this year marking 20 years at the station. Volunteering in a small town, there are hard calls, Glueck said.

"It can be very, very tough. Especially if it's something traumatic or they lose a house or somebody you know passes away. That's tough," he said.

He said with each call, his wife, Tammy, worries for his safety, and she has helped him through many of these harder calls he has had to go on.

While the job is tough both mentally and physically, he said serving in a small town is rewarding.

Grayson Glueck watches as his son, Eli, uses a fire hose on a fire in Chaffee, Missouri.Submitted

Grayson Glueck watches as his son, Eli, uses a fire hose on a fire in Chaffee, Missouri.Submitted

"Of course, all the parades are fun, because every kid likes the firefighters. Whenever we rescued the iguana at Kids Academy, it was a lot of fun. The iguana had gotten loose and climbed the tree; all the kids were there cheering for us. It was a lot of fun and a good story. It's always fun for fire prevention week when we go to all the schools. You know, the little kids, they love it," Glueck said.

The Chaffee Fire Department is built of families. There are 17 individuals on the roster with almost each one being related to someone on the force or someone whose family members used to be in it. Glueck said he thinks that happens with firefighters because serving gets into the family's DNA and they want to help.

In January 2022, Gluecks' children joined the Chaffee department — when daughter, Maddy, was a high school senior and son, Eli, was a junior — adding to the list of families. Glueck said he is very proud of them for making the decision to join.

"It just means a lot because I've done it for 30 years, and sometimes it's awful thankless. There's a lot of times you get a call at 2 o'clock in the morning and you're back home before anybody even knows that you got up in the middle of the night to do anything. But I guess they saw that and they liked it and they wanted to go help, too. I just like the fact that they want to help people."

Maddy said she mainly joined to be able to do it with her dad and brother, but also just wanted to help people in her community. She is the second woman in the town's history to join the department.

Grayson Glueck drives a fire truck during the Chaffee, Missouri, homecoming parade, one of his favorite perks of being in the town's fire deparemnt.Submitted

Grayson Glueck drives a fire truck during the Chaffee, Missouri, homecoming parade, one of his favorite perks of being in the town's fire deparemnt.Submitted

Glueck said his son, Eli, has been impacted by his time at the fire department so much he decided he wanted to do it post-graduation as a career.

"It's freaking awesome. It's cool to help people on the worst days of their lives," Eli Glueck said. Eli was the first high school student in the State of Missouri to pass the classes Fire 1 and 2 and become a certified EMT.

"What started out as 'I'm going to join and enjoy this with my dad and sister' now has become what he's going to do with his life, and it can happen to people. It doesn't happen to everybody, but for a lot of people it does, and that's really cool because, you know, when you join as a volunteer, you're just volunteering in your spare time. But when you learn to love it, and you learn to appreciate it, and you understand that what you're doing is important, and you can make a big difference," Glueck said.

It started out as Glueck joining because a family friend asked but has turned into three decades of volunteering and helping his community as well as bringing his own family to the brotherhood.

"Just come do it. You know, it's not for everyone, but come and try it out. It doesn't cost you anything except for time, but it's worth it in the end," Glueck said.

A young Eli Glueck sits on Grayson Gleuck's boots while collecting money at a fundraiser years ago.Submitted

A young Eli Glueck sits on Grayson Gleuck's boots while collecting money at a fundraiser years ago.Submitted