Ronald Scale Death, Obituary – We are saddened to inform everyone that retired Girard Fire Chief Ronald “Pete” Scales has died away, but we must spread the news anyway. Ronald “Pete” Scales will be greatly missed. The Southeast Kansas Firefighters Honor Guard would like to convey its deepest and most heartfelt apologies for any inconvenience that this may cause. They convey this information with a heavy feeling in their hearts because they are in a condition of extreme anguish at the moment.
In the year 1988, the very first Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service was organized in the state of Kansas. Chief Scales was a significant contributor to the planning of this event. This worship service would eventually evolve into a recurring tradition held in the state. This author cites the location as Girard, Kansas, where the tradition is carried out on a yearly basis at the same location.
Chief Scales played a significant role in the process that led to the formation of the Southeast Kansas Firefighters Honor Guard in March of 2000. This effort resulted in the formation of the honor guard. The efforts made by Chief Scales were responsible, in major part, for the founding of the guard. The final formation of the honor guard was a direct result of the efforts that he put out to get things started. It is a fact that he was one of the very first people to sign up for our Honor Guard, and that he continues to serve in that position up to this very day. This is a statement that is universally accepted.
Even though it didn’t come to fruition until after Chief Scales had retired from the fire department, he was able to realize his dream of having an actual fallen firefighter memorial created at the Girard Fire station in August of 2018. The memorial was dedicated to the men and women who had lost their lives while serving their communities as firefighters. The Girard Fire station’s parking lot served as the location for the memorial’s installation. Chief Scales was able to see his goal come true, despite the fact that it did not take place until after he had left his job and was no longer in charge of the organization.
To suggest that Chief Scales will be missed in his position would be an understatement, but he will be missed nonetheless. Saying that he will be missed would be an understatement. In every aspect imaginable, he was beneficial to the organization. He was turned to for advice and counsel by a sizeable number of people who included him among their circle of friends. The void that his passing has created will be acutely felt for a considerable length of time into the significant amount of time that lies ahead in the major amount of time that lies ahead into the foreseeable future.