09/04/2026
He Answered the Call
By Tanya Capps
“I was 14, and if we’re just going to be honest, it looked fun,” he said.
At 110 S. Main St. in Springhill, you’ll find more than a fire station. You’ll find a place that represents service, sacrifice, courage and a deep commitment to the people of this community.
For Michael Morse, that commitment began when he was just 14 years old.
In 2010, Michael walked into the Springhill Fire Department, District 11, as a junior firefighter. At the time, his reason was simple.
“I was 14, and if we're just going to be honest, it looked fun,” Michael said with a laugh. “Coming up here, playing around the fire trucks, all that kind of stuff was fun.”
What started as a teenager's fascination with fire trucks and the excitement of the fire service soon became a lifelong calling.
The junior firefighter program gave Michael the opportunity to learn what it truly meant to serve. Junior firefighters can participate in training, learn to use protective equipment, assist with appropriate tasks on emergency scenes and experience the teamwork and discipline required of firefighters all in a controlled environment.
When Michael turned 18, he became a full-fledged firefighter. Around 19, he became an engineer, learning to operate the department's trucks, pumps and equipment. From there, he became a training officer, then a captain around the age of 21 or 22.
By the time he was 23 years old, Michael Morse had become Fire Chief.
His journey from a 14-year-old junior firefighter to chief is a remarkable example of what can happen when a young person finds something they love and chooses to keep showing up.
Michael's dedication to serving others also led him into emergency medical care. After graduating from North Webster High School in 2015, he pursued his paramedic training.
As a paramedic, he is able to provide the highest level of pre-hospital medical care before a patient reaches an emergency room. That experience has become an important part of his life as a first responder.
His path also led him to the Shreveport Fire Department, where he gained additional experience in emergency response and technical rescue.
One person who encouraged Michael along that journey was fellow Springhill native Mark Allen, who passed away from brain cancer last year.
Mark encouraged Michael to pursue firefighting as a full-time career, become a paramedic and continue developing his skills in technical rescue.
For Michael, that encouragement made a lasting difference.
Leadership has brought its share of challenges, but Michael understands that challenges are part of the journey.
“There’s always obstacles,” he said. “You just kind of have to work around it or work through it, and do the best you can.”
Looking back, he knows there are things he might do differently with the knowledge he has today. But every call, training exercise, decision and difficult moment has taught him something.
That is the heart of a hometown fire department. The people who serve don't simply become leaders overnight. They grow into the responsibility often right alongside the community they serve.
Michael's commitment to helping others extends into his family as well.
He and his wife, Robin Morse, have been married for nearly five years. Robin is an emergency room nurse at Willis-Knighton North in Shreveport. The two actually met while Michael was working on a medic unit and making calls to the emergency department.
Together, they have two children, a four-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter.
And in one of those special family coincidences, both children were born on May 18, exactly one year apart.
Michael is the son of Rex and Kim Morse, keeping yet another connection to the Springhill community.
The story of the Springhill Fire Department at 110 S. Main St. is about much more than fire trucks, sirens and emergency calls.
It is about the people behind those trucks.
It is about young people being given an opportunity to serve and discover a calling.
It is about mentors who encourage the next generation.
It is about families who support the long hours, sacrifices and demands that come with being a first responder.
And it is about a hometown watching one of its own grow from a 14-year-old junior firefighter into the Fire Chief.
Michael Morse's story is a reminder that sometimes a calling begins in the simplest of ways.
For him, it started because the fire trucks looked like fun.
But somewhere along the way, the fun became purpose, the purpose became service, and the service became a lifelong commitment to Springhill.
At 110 S. Main St., the lights may come on for an emergency, but behind those lights are hometown people who have chosen to answer the call.
