Feb. 16, 2023 Dewayne Smoots is deputy chief of operations while his wife, Sharon, is assistant chief of support.
Source Firehouse.com News
Two of the highest-ranking chiefs in the Milwaukee Fire Department have the same last name.
That’s because Sharon and Dewayne Smoots are husband and wife, WISN reported.
Dewayne is the deputy chief of operations while Sharon is assistant chief of support.
The deputy chief joined the fire department 35 years ago after a career with the state’s justice department. “When I came on, we didn’t have any Black teams at all…”
He noted that he’s proud that the three assistant chiefs are African-Americans. And, that his wife is one of them makes it sweeter.
Sharon has been moving up through the ranks over the past 20 years. She had no aspirations of being a firefighter but took the test anyway to see where it would lead.
“It let me know and show others that this is possible,” she said, adding that the community has improved over the years.
Dewayne says the couple tries to leave their work in the firehouse.