On a chilly, overcast afternoon, the Plant City Honor Guard lowered the flag from the pole in front of the fire station. The tune of “America the Beautiful” was heard from a kilted piper on the lawn, and the entire Plant City Fire Rescue staff was gathered to honor one of their own: Captain Nat Hargrove, who had served with the fire department since 1990 and retired Thursday, Jan. 15.
“I’m used to serving and giving,” Hargrove said. “I’ve got to learn to receive, and that’s not easy to do.”
After the flag was lowered, it was removed from the pole and presented to Hargrove as a gift. Hargrove’s colleagues gave short speeches about why they will miss him and how they have appreciated him.
“One of the things I respect most is the fact that he is a firefighter at heart, he’s a family man, but he’s not afraid to proclaim himself as a Christian,” EMS Chief Jim Wilson said.
“When someone chooses a fire service career, they agree to make sacrifices. … Even more special are those who make it through the full career to retirement,” Chief Daniel Azzariti said.
Richard Brown, who had earlier played bagpipes at the ceremony, recalled how Hargrove himself had started learning bagpipes solely to play for the enjoyment of the fire department staff.
City Commissioner Mike Sparkman also was in attendance, and thanked Hargrove on behalf of the mayor, city manager and city commission.
Then, Hargrove approached the lectern himself, and addressed his peers and family with tears in his eyes.
“All I ever really wanted to do was to lead, and to lead well,” Hargrove said. “Just pass a little something on.”
He recalled a time years ago, when he was sent to a house fire with two new firefighters. One of the younger men was eager to start putting out the fire immediately, but Hargrove said they should find the source first.
Recently, that firefighter who had worked under Hargrove’s guidance was sent to a fire, and this time, he was the one leading a new firefighter. He encouraged the new firefighter to use Hargrove’s strategy of looking for the source first, because he had never forgotten that early day in his career. Hargrove said this was among the most rewarding moments of his career.
Hargrove was destined for fire service from an early age. When he was 13, his neighbor’s house caught fire, and he rushed over to help an elderly woman out of the building.
He first pursued other career paths, dabbling in retail and construction, but didn’t feel as though he had found his calling.
“There was always a little more yearning for excitement,” Hargrove said.
His brother-in-law was a firefighter in St. Petersburg and inspired Hargrove to start a career in the field. Hargrove, a resident of Lakeland, started working at Plant City Fire Rescue in August 1990 and knew he was in the right place.
“It was a fine line between obsession and career,” Hargrove said.
Hargrove has been on overseas mission trips throughout his life, including to Honduras, Ecuador, Romania and Austria. In his retirement, he hopes to dedicate more time to international evangelism.
Contact Catherine Sinclair at csinclair@plantcityobserver.com.
