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Samantha Goff | Johnson Publications

Mike Lee is a lifelong Perkins County resident, the chief of the Madrid Fire Department, and a bit of a truck, car and motorcycle junkie. 

Getting to know you: Mike Lee

By Samantha Goff

Grant Tribune-Sentinel

“Family man” Mike Lee is a third generation Perkins County resident as well as a third generation fireman. He currently holds the title of Madrid Fire Chief. 

Mike and his wife of 12 years, Stacy, live on Mike’s grandmother’s old property they purchased on the edge of Madrid where they raise their three kids. Alicia is 18, Keshia is 15 and they also have a 12-year-old son, Zeke. 

“The greatest time frame of my life, was the year that I got custody of my daughter, I got married, and got a new stepdaughter, and we had our son. I went from kind of being a single bachelor, to married with three children in that year.” 

The family also has a dog named Jessie that they rescued, and joked about the several cats that live outside on their property. “Well we started with just one.....,” Mike said.

A Wheatland graduate, Mike is currently employed at the ethanol plant, but has  been involved with the fire department for “as long as I can remember,” he said.

Mike’s grandfather was a fire chief, as was his father, who is still on the department, now answering to his son. Mike has been with the Madrid department officially for 10 years, and has held the chief position for the last four years. 

He said one of his proudest accomplishments was “finally getting my Firefighter 1! I’ve been a firefighter since I was 18, and never went after my certification. Last year I finally took the class and was able to get my Firefighter 1 certification.”

Stacy is also a member of the fire department. After over seven years, she is the captain, training officer and president, and the couple drops and runs when the whistle goes off. Mike admitted that isn’t always easy.

 “The problem with fire services is, there is always a risk, and the hard part is, we shouldn’t be together on a fire scene, because if something happens, one of us needs to be able to raise our kids. That’s our biggest struggle.”

However, the fire department is something that also brings the family together. Mike showed off pictures of his kids helping wash the trucks, and said they enjoy attending off-duty functions.

When he is not working or fighting fires, one of Mike’s favorite things to do is race. 

“Back when I was about 16, I started doing demolition derbies, and then I started doing tough trucks in Benkelman, and recently I started getting into mud racing. Now I do that every year.” 

“My dad drives my smaller truck so that’s something we can do together,” Mike said, adding the whole family loves to go and watch and cheer on their dad. 

“My perfect day would be racing. It’s relaxing and it’s just a blast. I love it.”

The Lees truly enjoy their family time and Mike said, “We go camping as often as we can, and my wife and I have motorcycles so we try to sneak out of town when we can.”

Mike joked that he reads “as little as possible,” and said he wasn’t aware of any special or hidden talents. 

When traveling, which he said wasn’t often but if he does go, “Vegas is a lot of fun, but if we were to go somewhere as a family, I really enjoy Oregon.”

 

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