Argyle fire chief reflects on lengthy career

Perhaps Mac Hohenberger simply had a trusting face.

That’s the only explanation he could come up with while playfully reminiscing about the first time he stepped foot inside what was then the Argyle Volunteer Fire District nearly 30 years ago.

Hohenberger was in his mid-20s, though he’d owned an auditing firm since he was 18. That fact interested the then-fire chief, Mike Harral, who needed someone to take over the district’s books.

“Their paperwork was in bad shape, and boy were they desperate,” Hohenberger said with a laugh. “I remember him saying, ‘I heard you have experience with accounting.’ Next thing I know, he’s asking if I’d be their treasurer.”

“Mind you, that was the first day I’d seen this place. I thought, ‘Is it common to appoint someone as treasurer on their first day?’”

In fairness to Harral, Hohenberger was recommended by another volunteer firefighter who’d pestered his buddy for months to join the crew. Yes, he had a trusting face. But he was also a hard worker and fit in perfectly with a small-town district exclusively staffed by part-time employees and volunteers. So along with straightening up the books, Hohenberger went through the necessary training and became a part-time firefighter.

Before anyone knew it, Hohenberger worked his way up to captain. In 1999, he replaced Harral as the chief.

A lot has happened in that time, including the transition from AFD to Denton County Emergency Services District No. 1 in 2006. And Hohenberger has pridefully helped steer the ship every step of the way.

He’ll officially call it a career in January — though he admits they’ll have a hard time keeping him out of the fire station.

“We have a dog here, and I’ve got to bring him a bone every morning or else he’ll come looking for me,” Hohenberger said. His original retirement date of June 1 was pushed back to January so he could help facilitate the transition to a new chief, which has not been named yet. “In fact, that’s one of the prerequisites for the new chief. They’re going to have to bring that dog his bones.”

Joking aside, it will take much more than that to fill Hohenberger’s boots while keeping tabs on a district and community that have grown by leaps and bounds over the past 30 years alone. The Denton County Emergency Services District No. 1 began as the Argyle Volunteer Fire District in 1963 with help from a group of local citizens, as no formal fire station was previously in place. In 2006, the citizens voted and approved the creation of the DCESD#1 to provide funding stability.

Today, the district operates out of three fire stations and provides services to over 48,000 residents in Argyle, Bartonville, Copper Canyon, Corral City, Lantana, Northlake, and surrounding areas within 65 square miles.

To put those numbers in perspective, Hohenberger said the population served was roughly 6,000 when he first started. The department also went from responding to 340 calls a year to 3,700 today. The first full-time employee was hired in 1999. Today, there are 42 full-timers and nine part-time employees. The district has also added ambulance services and much more.

“In those days, we didn’t have a high chance of saving someone’s life after a heart attack, etc.,” Hohenberger said. “Nowadays, we are saving lives every day. The types of calls we receive have changed, too. They went from calls about snake bites and dog bites to heart attacks, gunshots, suicide, and other violent acts. It feels good to see our ability to serve these needs improve.”

While it’s easy to point to the chief as the reason for those success stories, Hohenberger refuses to take all the credit.

“I put in a lot of time, but so did so many others. It wasn’t just Mac doing this,” he said. “In fact, I recently found a photo of our crew taken in 1999 or 2000; I hadn’t seen that photo in years, but just by looking at it, I can tell you that every guy and gal in it has been a huge part of why the ESD is here. Guys like James Price, who is in this photo, had been a volunteer since the 70s. Jon Donahue, Brad Cochran, Jeff Mangum … I can look at each of these faces and say, ‘I remember when you did this, and you did this, and this person over here did that.’ It’s a neat story to tell because every one of them stepped in when it mattered most.”

He added, “Before the ESD, we had to go to each town and ask for money. This provided more financial stability, and look what we’re able to do now. Everyone here has a lot of pride in what we’re doing every day.”

This is why it will be difficult for Hohenberger to walk away once January rolls around. With that said, he and his wife, Karla, plan to travel in their RV and spend as much time as possible with their five kids and six grandkids.

“We’ll be doing a lot of traveling, that’s for sure. And it will help me stay away,” Hohenberger said. “Whoever is the next chief will have a great group of firefighters. You can’t find a better group of firefighters.”