Fire Chief Mike Hart is seen through the flames of a building the Rome Twp. Volunteer Fire Department is burning for training, in Stewart, Ohio. For years, Mike has lived life with varying degrees of kidney failure. However, on September 10, 2020, he received a new lease on life through a phone call to head to Columbus for a double organ transplant.
Mike holds medication that he takes because of his double organ transplant inside of the fire department in Stewart, Ohio. Mike is now outside of the six month window that transplant organs are most likely to be rejected in. “My best day is someone else’s worst day. The fact that somebody had to lose their life for me to do better, somebody else had to perish. That does weigh on you quite a bit.”
Dash, one of Mike and his wife Hailee Hart’s two dalmatians sits on his lap, in Stewart, Ohio. Mike affectionately refers to their dalmatians as “Velcro dogs”, as they desire frequent physical touch, "and are basically attached to you." Dash, Mike said, was initially unexpected and not entirely wanted. “Hailee bought him for me for my birthday and I about shit a horse.” Over time, this feeling has changed dramatically. “He’s my boy,” said Mike. “He’s the best pet I’ve ever had. If I had to pay $5000 for another day with Dash, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”
Mike takes a moment in between wiring one of the fire engines to talk about his philosophy on running the fire department, in Stewart, Ohio. “A firehouse is supposed to be spotless,” said Mike while speaking about projects that, due to the double organ transplant, he now has energy to complete. “Part of that is that if a tax payer walked into this place I would want them to think, ‘wow they really take care of this place.’ It’s out of respect for the community.” “I tried to serve in the military but got turned away because of flat feet, so I decided if I can’t serve my country I’ll serve my community.”
Mike, left, pats Levi Snedden, the son of Mike’s childhood friend, Tim, on the head during a training burn in Stewart, Ohio. Mike and Hailee are god parents to Tim and Staci Snedden’s children, Levi and Gracie, and serve on the fire department with them. “Mike has always been a huge part in Levi and Gracies life,” said Staci. “We knew instantly who we wanted to be their godfather.” Serving with Tim and Staci on the fire department, the Harts say, has without question strengthened their friendship.
Mike, a self-identified night-owl, works on a project at the fire department as night falls, in Stewart, Ohio. Hailee, on the other hand, is usually in bed at an early hour. For two years prior to his double organ transplant, Hailee would help Mike with at-home dialysis for four hours a night, four days a week. Due to the allotment of time that dialysis takes and the differences between their sleep schedules, the early days of dialysis were at times challenging, Mike said, but that with time they found compromise.
Mike, left, and Randy Fleming rehearse with the band Heart Break Ridge in Mike’s garage, in Stewart, Ohio. Mike recounts a story of when first playing with a live band, he turned his amplifier way down because he didn’t want to be heard. But after awhile, his amp seemed to be operating at normal levels and he would again turn his amp back down. Eventually he caught the drummer turning his amp up to which the drummer told Mike to, “cut that shit out, you’re doing fine.” Mike has played in a band ever since.
Mike’s belt buckle is illuminated by fire light as he burns and clears brush in his yard in Stewart, Ohio. A buckle made by Budweiser to honor firefighters, it reads: “This Bud’s For You.”
Mike, right, pretends to push fellow fire fighter Jameson Allen into the portable water reservoir after a training burn while veteran fire fighter Jim Goodfellow looks on, in Stewart, Ohio. “I needed to get this place back,” said Mike, while speaking about his early goals as a fire chief. “I wanted it to be a place where you’d sit down and laugh after a call.”
Mike watches the fire after raking the coals in Stewart, Ohio. “I don’t push religion on anyone and I don’t preach religion to anybody, and I don’t know if tested is the right word but I honestly think it was the good lord saying this is what you could deal with forever,” said Mike. “I do feel very blessed for the things in my life, but there’s been times where I wonder why me? I can’t help but think about my donor,” Mike continues. “What kind of life did that person leave? Did they [their organs] go to somebody worthy enough to make them happy? It makes me want to work harder. And it makes me want to work better. That runs through my mind at the end of the day.”