Carl Smith is currently the Chief of the Thunderbolt Volunteer Fire Department, where he has held the position since August of 1993. He started as a junior firefighter on the department when he was 13 years old, serving along side his father and 5 uncles. His grandfather was also a past assistant chief of the department. He has over 15 years as a paid firefighter with a mid size metropolitan fire department, where he served 2 terms as Union President which resulted in his having a very good grasp of the fire service from multiple sides and an intimate knowledge of the issues we are facing at this time and will face in the future.

Carl is known by his peers as someone who “gets things done.” He has helped transition his all volunteer department to a combination department with 24 hour shift paid staff. As President of his local county chiefs association he was able to improve and enhance all the fire departments in his county by successfully lobbying and passing legislation that granted all fire departments funding from the county's Special Local Option Sales Tax. He also helped pass the funding for a second time during his time in office and helped secure well over $10 million dollars for the departments in his county.

Carl is probably most proud of his time served as President of the Georgia Association of Fire Chiefs. During his time on the Board and as President he worked to create and formalize the Georgia Fire Services 5 year plan and the plan has yielded numerous successes over the past several years. Because of his hard work, dedication, and commitment to his previous positions, Chief Smith was honored when he was asked to run and serve as 2nd Vice President of the SEAFC, where he currently serves as the President.

(above) Chief Smith attending his Executive Fire Officer Class at NFA.