Community says goodbye to BSFD’s Chief Farhat after
eight years
By Brandon Walker EBS COMMUNITY EDITOR
BIG
SKY – A crowd of about 30 individuals were in attendance at the Big Sky Fire
Department on Jan. 24 to see off departing BSFD Chief William Farhat. Colleagues
and community members celebrated the man in the very station he has overseen for
nearly a decade.
“I’ve
been cleaning out my office and every time I find something that I haven’t seen
in a while it triggers a memory,” said Farhat, surrounded by friends who
congratulated and thanked him. “The community has grown a lot and we had to
grow along with it … It’s going to hit, you know, when everybody leaves, I go
to a quiet office and turn lights off for the last time and leave my keys.”
The
celebration kicked off with speeches and award presentations by President of
the Local IAFF 4732, John Foster, and Interim Chief Greg Megaard. Lastly,
Farhat addressed the crowd that came out to wish him well. His speech was light
and cheerful as he worked in some jokes and even told the tale of how he never
anticipated becoming a fire chief in the first place.
Megaard,
who served with BSFD as Deputy Chief-Operations from 2016 until he took the
helm at 5 p.m. on Jan. 24 as Interim Chief, said Farhat’s exit is bittersweet.
“Obviously,
Chief Farhat’s done some remarkable things here, but when you do make a move
for your family, nobody can begrudge that,” Megaard said after addressing the
crowd. “It means everything to be able to send him off the right way and have members
of the public, the board, the fire staff here.”
Next
on the docket for Farhat is a move to Florida where he will assume the role of Fire
Marshal for the Orange County Public Schools in Orlando, Florida. His new position will
be no small task: Orange County is the eighth largest in the U.S. Farhat’s
lengthy experience as a first responder will be invaluable as he oversees 2,000
schools housing some 215,000 students and 2,500 employees.
Although
Foster detailed that Farhat is no stranger to handling a lofty workload, citing
his track record in Big Sky as proof. “We had a board meeting just a couple
days ago [and] we talked about our call volume increasing 111 percent since
2010. So, the growth in the community has been massive and he’s been able to
keep up with it and he’s just done so much for the fire department,” Foster
said.
The
departing chief’s legacy will live on long after his departure. During his
eight-year tenure, the size of the BSFD more than tripled in size from eight
full-time employees to 28. Farhat hired 21 of them himself.
“A
lot of us are here … have our jobs because of the mill levies that he helped
pass within the community,” Foster said. “I was hired on one of those mill
levies, some of the other guys have been hired on other ones and on grants that
he’s gotten passed through. He’s been great for the area, he’s been great for
us, and good for the relationship between the local [IAFF 4732 union] and the
fire department.”
Then,
as if it was written into existence by a Hollywood screenwriter, a fire call
rang out during the celebration. The need to ensure the coast was clear lined
the departing chief’s face as he checked for updates. True right up to his last
day, he fulfilled his duties to the best of his ability no matter the
situation.
Farhat
shared a final sentiment of how much the Big Sky community and station has
meant to him over the years. “It’ll be sad, no doubt. I have left jobs before.
It’s not the first time for me, but this one is different … I have a much
stronger attachment to the people I work with here, care about them a lot more.
They’ve been great to me so I’m going to miss that.”
