A try at college and various other jobs came before Don Leapheart, 55, settled into a career as a firefighter.
On Friday, he will end his 30-year career.
Leapheart, a native of Kansas City, Kan., first took on with the Cherryvale fire department before joining the Iola crew in 1984.
“I found the perfect fit in Iola,” he said. “I worked with a lot of experienced guys.”
Leapheart soon found himself an engineer, a lieutenant and then a captain.
In 1999, he became the first black to become chief on an Iola force.
Being the first black chief carried a little extra responsibility, Leapheart added, if only for himself.
“I’ve always been proud to have had the support of the black leaders of our city, such men as Spencer Ambler, Harvey Rogers, Red Garner and Gene Clounch,” he said.
He also took the reins of the combined Iola-Allen County ambulance service, a position that chiefs before him had held. After about five years he stepped down from the ambulance job, when it became apparent, Leapheart said, that managing the Iola department and meeting the needs of volunteers in Humboldt and Moran was becoming too difficult.
“I enjoyed working with the county, but I wasn’t a paramedic and I thought the director needed to be,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Iola department was becoming more comprehensive, having added a registered nurse in Ron Conaway and a paramedic in David Shaw. Ryan Sell, now director of countywide ambulance service managed by Iola, and Davis Owen are also paramedics.
IOLA’S DEPARTMENT has grown under Leapheart’s direction, in large measure because of grants that permitted it to add a truck designed to respond to concerns arising from hazardous materials and, in conjunction with the county, a tanker that can provide assistance in fighting rural fires when a water source isn’t handy.
The department obtained its first thermal imaging device, which can be used to find people as well as hidden hot spots, through a fundraising effort.
The department has kept abreast of the latest firefighting and emergency medical techniques under Leapheart’s watch.
Most of all, Leapheart is eager to point out professionalism and expertise within the department falls back to “the firefighters and how they all mesh so well together.” Two department objectives remain constant: To be as responsive as it can be in fighting fires and answering EMS calls; and to be a credit to the city.
“I’m proud that we were able to merge the Iola and county ambulance services before I retired,” he said. “It’s working well and won’t do anything but get better.
