Historic Tradition

SEBRING - Tradition has been a rich part of the Sebring Fire Department from the day the firemen laid the first bricks at Central Station.

From games at Firemen's Field to the ritual of the Valuable Man Award, the fire department's history is chronicled in the book, "The Story of the Sebring Firemen," written by the city's first paid fire chief, Allen Altvater.

The complete history, however, stops at 1961, when the book was printed.

So Sebring native Allen Altvater III is carrying on the work of his grandfather, updating and reprinting the book to cover basic history from the past 46 years.

"The addition doesn't do justice to what they've accomplished since 1961, but it's at least an effort to bring some of the information up to date," said Altvater, youth pastor at First Baptist Church of Lake Josephine.

He plans to present the book to all 23 firefighters at Tuesday's City Council meeting. Fire Chief Bradley Batz said he thinks the firefighters are excited about the book, which includes pictures of the entire current staff.

"Firemen are a unique breed that really likes history and tradition," Batz said. "There is so much history and tradition in this building and with this book we will be able to have a piece of it."

Altvater is printing about 100 copies of the book, some copies will go to family friends, and the Sebring Historical Society will receive 50 copies that they plan to sell.

Carole Goad, historian at the Sebring Historical Society, said she thinks many history buffs will be interested in purchasing a copy.

"The fire department has always been a very revered institution since this town started," Goad said.

Altvater won't claim any of the praise for the book's completion and said he did it as a tribute to his
grandfather and firefighters.

"The firemen have always shown when there are needs in a community, they surface and really come through," Altvater said.

Although Altvater said he lost count of the numerous hours he spent compiling the book, he knows it's minor compared to the time it took his grandfather to set all the type for the book on a Multigraph printer.

Much of the book is written through a narrative account of the fire chief's experiences.

"I had no interest in changing his words except to fix typos or spelling mistakes," Altvater said. "Papa had a very particular way of saying things and I wouldn't want to take that away ... I don't know if he ever intended for this book to be the official history of the fire department, but it has become that."

Documenting history was a hobby of his grandfather's, who was widely regarded as the city and county historian.

"I am a novice at this, but it is slowly becoming my hobby as well," Altvater said.

His next endeavor is republishing his grandfather's book about Highlands Hammock State Park.