Sister Bay/Liberty Grove Fire Chief Chris Hecht did not realize it would take 30 years before he would undertake one of the biggest volunteer efforts Door County has ever seen. It was shortly after the pandemic began taking its toll on the community, shutting down businesses and schools while forcing the area’s most vulnerable to stay indoors at risk of catching COVID-19, that the Door County Fire Chiefs Association and the Door County Emergency Support Coalition were born. Men and women seen fighting fires and saving lives were doing simple tasks like picking up groceries, checking on family members, and even just talking on the phone. The jobs would later shift to helping at testing and vaccination sites and passing out food boxes to families in need. After he and his wife Liz received the Sister Bay Advancement Association Volunteers of the Year Award last month, he was quick to point out that he did not do it alone.

Through the Door County Fire Chiefs Association and the Door County Emergency Support Coalition, over 700 people contributed more than 11,000 hours of community service. Hecht’s next undertaking will be helping the community never forget its first responders. After helping lead efforts to install commemorative brick pavers at the grounds of the Liberty Grove Historical Society, he is assisting efforts to launch an oral history project for the Sister Bay/Liberty Grove Fire Department.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly labeled the site of the brick pavers for first responders at the Sister Bay Historical Society when it is actually at the Liberty Grove Historical Society grounds in Ellison Bay. Door County Daily News regrets this error.