LOCKHART — “He is a very special man,” said interim Lockhart Fire Chief Lee Brannon.

Brannon and members of the fire department and Lockhart Fire District Board of Trustees agree on that point and special might not even begin to describe Joe Burns.

The fire district honored Burns for his more than 40 years of service — first as a firefighter and then as a board member — protecting the people of the eastern Union County community.

Burns is retiring from his position on the board of trustees due to health reasons and the board and department wanted to make sure he knew just how much they appreciate his time and service to the community. Brannon presented him with a plaque commemorating his time of service in the district during the fire department’s regular monthly meeting on Monday, Aug. 16.

The 76-year-old Lockhart resident began his service with the Lockhart volunteer department in 1965 and was a firefighter up until about 15 years ago when he became a member of the board of trustees.

Brannon said the district and department wanted to honor Burns not only for his time of service but also for the selflessness he has shown over the years.

The interim fire chief said there was hardly a night when firefighters were called out in the wee hours of the morning that Burns wasn’t the first person at the department to unlock the doors and the last to leave making sure everything was sealed tight again.

“You’d see him standing on his porch, watching to make sure everything was OK,” Brannon said. “Even as a board member he was doing that. He loved his fire department. He watched out for us over there.”

No one, not even his son Randall who is the secretary/treasurer for the Lockhart district board, let the secret out of the bag prior to last Monday’s meeting so when Brannon presented Burns with the plaque the 76-year-old was surprised.

Brannon said when Burns came over to the department that evening he thought it was just to sit in on the meeting with the rest of the firefighters.

“He didn’t have a clue,” the interim chief said.

Brannon and Randall worked it out so Burns could receive the award when he was feeling a little better and receiving the honor from the department and district made the departing member somewhat emotional.

“He couldn’t quit thanking us,” Brannon said, adding Burns didn’t talk a lot that evening. “He was just soaking it in.”

Randall said his dad was surprised by the recognition and appreciated the gesture.

“He was real pleased with it,” Randall said, adding he also was glad to not only be part of recognizing his father but that the department and board were able to honor him in this way.

Brannon said Burns will be an honorary member of the fire department for the rest of his life and is welcome at the firehouse any time.

Burns will always have a spot in the fire district and the department and board wish him well in the future. Brannon had high praises for someone he called special.

“You just aren’t going to find too many guys like that,” the interim chief said. “Everything he did, he did not only for the benefit of the Lockhart Fire District but for the community in general.”