Chief Gail Schmidt named Volunteer Chief of the Year

Volunteer Fire Chief Gail Schmidt of the Rockerville Volunteer Fire Department has been named the 2026 IAFC Fire Chief of the Year.

Schmidt has been at the helm of the Rockerville Volunteer Fire Department since 2014, although she has dedicated over 30 years to the volunteer fire service.

She called the honor, “humbling” despite knowing she had been nominated by a key mentor in Kevin Quinn. The award, says Schmidt, “speaks to the great things we’re doing in South Dakota and the fire service. That level of recognition doesn’t happen if we’re not doing great things.” 

According to an Aug. 12 press release, Schmidt has  many accomplishments that have transformed the way fires are fought in the Black Hills.

“Under her leadership, a multi-year initiative resulted in a district-owned water system featuring a 60,000-gallon storage system and a hydrant capable of delivering 600 gallons per minute at the department’s main station,” the release said. “The project significantly improved emergency response capabilities, firefighter safety and suppression effectiveness while also creating new regional training opportunities.”

In addition, Schmidt was instrumental in writing grants that secured, “more than $915,000, which represented more than $1 million in equipment value, to replace obsolete radios and pagers and improve interoperability among emergency response agencies throughout Pennington County.”

Schmidt is no stranger to doing what’s best for her team, her community and the overall safety of the public. In September of 2025 Schmidt and her team at the Rockerville Volunteer Fire Department (RVFD), along with Pennington County Search and Rescue (PCSAR) and the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) marked a trail along the popular Hippie Hole path, an unsanctioned trail that has become the site of numerous accidents and rescues in the last few years. RVCD paid for the trail markings. 

At the time Schmidt noted, “It boiled down to we’re not going to keep people off the trail.” 

She began to have conversations with the Mystic District Ranger of the Black Hills National Forest who gave permission to place the markers. 

The markers not only help hikers but also first responders who respond with equipment like ropes or dive gear and often have to navigate cliffs, rocks and water. 

“If they get injured at marker 26, I know they’re clear down at the hole. It gives us an idea of where the patient is located and allows us to prepare for the right rescue,” Schmidt said after the trail was installed.

The press release highlight’s Chief Schmidt’s role in the 2019 search for missing 9-year-old Serenity Dennard, who was last seen in the vicinity of the Children’s Home on South Rockerville Road. 

“Chief Schmidt committed 65 operational days and traveled more than 750 miles on foot in support of the search effort,” the press release stated.

Schmidt said Dennard  will “always be one of those cases that will stay with me, simply because we don’t have that answer yet.” 

Schmidt is confident that the case will be solved.

Schmidt said taking care of “this community is a top priority for me.” But she acknowledges she is but one of many.

“I can’t do this alone. My agency can’t do this alone,” said Schmidt, who offered her thanks to the large team she works with from dispatch to boots on the ground first responders, from career to volunteer,  from local to state and federal personnel.

“I’m blessed to have the brotherhood, the sisterhood we have to make things happen,” said Schmidt.

The IAFC has annually recognized one volunteer and one career fire chief for outstanding service since 1996. Nominations are evaluated by a committee who focuses on leadership, innovation, professional development, integrity, public service and contributions to the fire service.