Randy Smith grew up in Lake Station and attended Thomas A. Edison High School. Firefighting had always been a big part of Smith’s life—his dad was a volunteer fireman, and Smith liked going and riding with the firemen to help out and gain experience. So, after graduating, Smith went to Ivy Tech Community College to study fire science.
Smith spent some time working on his degree but realized that, to become a career firefighter, he had to be 21. So, in 1981, he decided to join the United States Air Force to get his firefighting career started.
Smith did his basic training and then moved on to technical training. His superiors quickly realized how talented he was and how much experience he had. When Smith was only 18 years old, he was offered a teaching position at the world’s largest fire school on Chanute Air Force Base.
Teaching was a wonderful opportunity for Smith, but after three years, he realized he wanted to try something new. He decided to retrain and spent the rest of his time in the Air Force as a gunner on a B-52 Bomber.
Smith’s time in the Air Force is a time he holds extremely dear. He loved his time in the Air Force and is proud he got to serve his country.
“I'm proud of my military service. I got to do some really neat things. There aren’t too many 22-year-olds that can say they don't have a four-year degree but had the opportunity to get in the copilot seat of a B-52 and fly it,” said Smith.
When Smith came back from the Air Force, he dabbled in industrial firefighting at U.S. Steel for a while, but his heart was still set on being a city firefighter. A position opened up at Hobart Fire Department, Smith took the test, and, after passing with flying colors, became a fireman as he’d always dreamed.
Since then, Smith has served at Hobart Fire Department for many years. During his time at Hobart Fire Department, he’s served as lieutenant, assistant fire chief, and captain. He actually retired for a while but eventually decided to come back to serve as fire chief. He’s now been chief for five years.
Smith has ultimately lived a very full life. He’s done and experienced so many different things he never thought he’d get to do.
“If I die today, I’ve lived the lives of nine men,” laughed Smith.
Out of all his experiences, though, Smith’s experience with COVID-19 is the one that has impacted him the most both physically and emotionally.
Smith caught COVID-19 in November 2020. He spent several days in his basement hardly able to move until he was rushed by his family to the hospital. After waiting for three days in the ER, they finally had a ventilator available for him.
Smith’s experience being on the ventilator is one he doesn’t like to think about.
“It wasn't anything like what you read about where people say, ‘Oh, I was close to dying and I saw a tunnel of light.’ It was nothing like that at all. It was just a horrible, horrible dream,” said Smith.
When Smith woke up, his recovery was very slow and difficult. He could barely move and speak for a long time. Smith could have easily given in to his suffering, but instead chose to push through. After a lot of hard work and self-discipline, he started to improve.
Even as his body began to improve; however, Smith continued to struggle mentally. For a long time, he felt guilty about surviving COVID-19 while so many others didn’t. It took some time, but Smith eventually realized that it just wasn’t his time and that God had other plans for him.
“I just came to the conclusion that God wasn't ready for me, and if He's going to keep me, I'm going to do something good. He's kept me here for something, and I need to pay him back,” said Smith.
Since recovering, Smith has aimed to use the second chance at life God gave him and make a difference in people’s lives. He likes to spend his time going back to where he did his rehab to share his story with the patients. He asks them about their own recovery journey and encourages them to keep going.
“It seems to resonate with people. Any therapist can come in and tell you you need to do this and that, but I think patients listen a little more to someone who has actually lived through what they’re going through,” said Smith.
Smith hopes to one day write a book so he can share his story with even more people and inspire them to keep going even when things seem hopeless. Smith’s experience with COVID-19 was terrible, but it’s allowed him to appreciate his life in a way he never did before. Smith is grateful for everything he has and everything he’s done and wouldn’t change a thing.
At the end of the day, Smith’s admiration for life is truly moving. It’s not every day we take a moment to appreciate both the bad along with the good, but Smith proves that to enjoy life fully means embracing everything and anything life throws at you.