In Memorium.......FORMER FLORIDA DIRECTOR PASSES |
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Former Florida
FFLA Director John Seifert passed away in his sleep at his home in DeLeon
Springs, Florida, in early December. After calling in sick on Sunday morning,
Dec. 10th, and having days off Monday and Tuesday, after not reporting
to work Wednesday morning, John was found deceased in his bed, apparently
having passed away sometime Sunday night or early Monday morning. After the formation of the Forest Fire Lookout Association, John, a native of New Jersey, was named the Florida representative, while staffing Seville Tower in central Florida. While giving up the director position, John continued as the Florida Department of Forestry's lookout at DeLeon Tower, the tallest staffed tower in the state. John has moved on to a "higher" vantage point....and sadly, his firetower position will probably not be filled. Florida is slowly phasing out the full-time tower operators. < John Seifert, near Ramapo Tower, NJ |
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Tributes to John:
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To many people in the FFLA, John
was only a name on our early Director lists, representing States for
the Association. Not too many in the FFLA got to meet him personally,
but to his friends in the Forest Fire Service he will be unforgettable.
John was part of the "original few" who became known as "Scardo's
rangers" , the firefighters of New Jersey's Section A-2. We were
all good friends as well as members of a wildfire crew. We shared good
times and bad times, tears and laughter, and blackened sooty faces from
many a fire call out. John moved to Florida and became a fire lookout
for the Florida Division of Forestry and his talent for spotting smokes
at distances others could not make out earned him an "eagle eye"
reputation.
He was good at what he did and he did it well. That I think is as good a measurement of someone's abilities as tons of poetry and praise. It was through John's early efforts that the FFLA had the very first accurate information about Florida's fire towers, a comprehensive list that this writer still uses today for research. John joins the ranks now of other lookouts who have come and gone, gone maybe in body but certainly not to memory and the thoughts of those of us who knew him. Our best wishes to his family and our collective condolences. Bob Spear FFLA-NJ Chapter NJFFS Even though he's been in Florida for years, we kept in touch. We'd call each other usually around this time of year. He usually called Jean and me, but some years I beat him to it. I can't think of anyone I know who's heart was more in the Forest Fire Service than John Seifert. He literally lived it. It's more than true he was a valuable member of Frank Scardo's crew. He was there whenever Frank needed him, would do any job asked of him, and believe me, John was given more than his fair share of the dirty work. I was ecstatic for John when he found a full time job as a fire observer in Florida, even though I was saddened he was moving away from us. I remember kidding him, "Make sure you clean the embers from between that alligators' toes, or you'll get spot fires!" But this was a job that God invented just for John, I'm sure. It was bittersweet when he moved away. John had eyes like a hawk and could spot a smoke like nobody else when he was in Ramapo Tower. I remember chasing smokes with Frank that John would spot only to find someone lit a match. He was that good. Anyone who knows John knows I'm telling the truth. There was one time he spotted a smoke in somebody's back yard. He dispatched us and we were there before the homeowner knew there was a fire. John, God bless you. We salute you, and we will miss you. We will see you in a better place and you will be in our hearts forever. Pete and Jean Bremy NJFFS A2D6 |