Doug Sommer: Nearly six decades answering calls, aiding the community

by Melissa McPherson

At 77 years old, lifelong Stockbridge resident Doug Sommer has spent nearly 60 years as a volunteer for the Stockbridge Fire Department (now SAESA). When you hear about that kind of longevity, you might imagine he spent his boyhood dreaming about being a firefighter. But until the day the township supervisor asked him to help put out a grass fire in the area, Sommer had given no thought to firefighting at all.

That was in 1968, and since then, he has served in nearly every role the department has to offer. He began as a firefighter and later served as lieutenant, captain, assistant chief and then staging officer. Today, after decades of service, he continues to serve his community as a truck engineer.

When asked what inspired him to continue to serve after that first fire, Sommer said simply, “I just started, and I never stopped.”

The Stockbridge Fire Department looked very different when Doug first joined. Pagers…cell phones…they didn’t exist. Fire calls came through a dedicated phone line installed in firefighters’ homes. When the distinctive, steady ring sounded, everyone knew it was time to go.

More often than not, that call came at night, as it did on Aug. 17, 1971.

“The call came in during the middle of the night,”  Sommer recalled. “I got up to answer the phone and looked out the front window. The whole sky was red.”

The grain elevator at the Stockbridge Elevator Company, which processed local beans, hay, and grain had caught fire. The elevator stood directly along the old Grand Trunk Western railroad tracks, a critical transit corridor for mid-Michigan’s agricultural production. The blaze was so massive and hot that the radiant heat could be felt fiercely from blocks away. The wooden structure was completely consumed by the flames, leaving behind only the concrete foundations. Miraculously, no one was hurt in the fire, but following its destruction, local farmers shifted to more modernized facilities.

For  Sommer, who has spent his entire life in Stockbridge, working for the small volunteer fire department is more than just a community service, it is personal. Growing up in Stockbridge means many calls involve friends, neighbors and familiar faces.

One night, he responded to a fire on the road where his wife Terry had grown up. He and Terry had been in 4-H together and had started dating as teenagers. As he drove the fire truck toward the scene, he realized the burning house was her childhood home, still owned by both his wife and her brother.

“My heart just sank,” he recalled.

Though no one was injured in that fire,  Sommer has been witness to plenty of loss. He has experienced heartbreaking moments that tested both his strength and his training, including discovering family members after tragic accidents.

It’s easy to imagine being overwhelmed by the loss that goes with the job, but instead, Sommer uses it as motivation to keep helping his community. His wife Terry believes being a firefighter is what helped him get through those tragedies.

She said, “I think his training helped him keep it together.” Terry added, “He knew what to do. He knew who to call. It helped him handle situations that would have overwhelmed almost anyone else.”

Despite the difficult memories, Doug never considered walking away from the department.

Instead, he continued answering calls while balancing life on the family farm and raising three children with Terry—Melissa, Eric and Todd. Today, their grown children remain close to home, with Melissa and Eric living in Stockbridge and Todd in Jackson.

A lot has changed in the nearly 60 years since Sommer began working for the department—both for him, personally, and for the department itself.

“The equipment has changed so much,”  Sommer said. “The apparatus, how you attack fires, and the training, it’s all improved.”

Yet while technology and training have advanced, the heart of the job has remained the same.

“It’s serving the community,” he said. “Being available to help preserve life and the community.”

Sommer doesn’t focus on titles, awards or recognition. What has kept him returning, year after year, is something much simpler.

“It’s rewarding,” he said. “Helping people when they’re in need.”

His dedication is a reminder that service isn’t always measured by dramatic rescues or headlines. Sometimes it’s measured in thousands of quiet moments—answering the phone, climbing into a fire truck, and showing up whenever the community needs you.

For nearly six decades,  Doug Sommer has answered the call.