VETERAN SALUTE: Fighting fires around the world with the Air Force

TOPEKA ( KSNT ) – For two decades, Jason Lady put out fires worldwide. Serving in the Air Force, he exemplified the importance of selflessness by putting others’ safety and wellbeing at the top of his priorities.

For the Ladys, military service runs in the family.

“My grandfather was in World War II,” Lady said. “Both my uncle and father served in Vietnam. One was Navy, the other one was a Marine. Both encouraged me to go into separate branches.”

Jason would take the road yet traveled, joining the Air Force. There, he would go on to serve 20 years as a firefighter. Around the globe, he would fight a wide variety of unique fires.

“One day, you could be working at a crash station where your responsibility is primarily aircraft,” he said. “The next day, you could be working at a structural station where your primary job is to protect housing or the structures on the base.”

Jason protected a lot of the planet from raging fires. He spent time in Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Spain, Germany and more, as well as multiple states around our country. Making a difference in multiple communities really meant a lot to the technical sergeant.

“As a firefighter, on a daily basis, I think we make an impact in people’s lives,” Lady said. “You see them on their worse days a lot of the time. Being military and deploying to some of these locations is the fact you see some bad situations. Just being able to make an impact on a daily basis in people’s lives is a thing that always encouraged me.”

Nearly a full decade after finishing his time in the Air Force, Jason still reflects fondly on the impact he knows his team made.

“A lot of people ask me what makes you want to run into a burning building, or a grass fire,” he said. “I dealt with one of the largest grass fires in South Carolina history when I was down there. You’re helping individuals in need, whether those grass fires end up coming near a housing district or an individual’s house that’s just out there in the rural community, you’re saving property and lives. That’s the key to being a firefighter, is that you know you have a sense of fulfillment that you did this.”

Even after his service with the military came to an end, he still found ways to fight fires. Since returning stateside, Jason worked closely with the State Fire Marshal and the City of Lawrence, where he’s working today as the deputy code official.

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