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Fire Department for 41 years , where he served as Chief for 40 years until his death . His brother Richard then stepped to the helm , serving as Chief from 2013 to 2021 .
When Richard stepped down in 2021 , his nephew Mike Bales was elected chief .
“ Mike grew up in the fire department ,” said Richard . “ Ronnie ’ s life was this department . He was here all the time and most of the time , Mike was here with him . There ’ s nobody that knows more
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about firefighting than Mike .”
Although he serves as Chief in the Keavy department , Mike Bales works for the Nicholasville Fire Department where he works the 24 / 48 shift .
“ That ’ s 24 hours on and 48 hours off ,” he said . “ I ’ ve been there for over 23 years and I ’ m the Battalion Chief there . “ I guess I ’ ve always been involved ,” Mike continued . “ I remember the first fire I went to with my dad ; it was a house fire . I sat in the truck
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and when they got it under control , he put his coat on the ground . I sat there and watched the fire department finish up . When I was around 13 , I started going to the meetings with him every Monday night .”
The role of the volunteer fire departments to their individual communities is vital . Richard Bales said the 1971 organization of the Keavy department arose from 2 specific fires in the area .
“ We had a house on Rooks
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Branch Road that caught fire and it had two propane tanks outside . They caught fire and exploded ,” he explained . “ The second fire was an auction house that was an old school building that caught fire . Lily was the closest fire station , and of course , by the time they got to there , the buildings had burned down .
“ Ronnie and some others recognized the need for a local community fire department so they started having meetings at Keavy school ,” he added .
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