For Steven Negedly, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. His father was a volunteer firefighter and, which can often be expected from sons, Negedly wanted to do what dad did.

“[My father] owned a lawn business and was a volunteer, so I helped with the business,” Negedly said. “When a call would go out, he would go out, I’d just hang around the fire station and get on the trucks and stuff. I knew I wanted to do that when I grew up.”

His father recognized his son’s ambition, but as an unpaid volunteer, he instilled some wisdom in his sons. “He [told me] and my brother to go get our schooling and get paid to do it.”

Negedly got his A.A. at a Christian school in Georgia, but without the money to continue his plan of becoming a youth pastor, he had to regroup. His path to being a lieutenant at Lake Nona’s Engine Company 16 started there. He was hired as a volunteer firefighter in 1993, and four years later, he was full-time with the city of Edgewater before joining the Orlando Fire Department in 2003.

The biggest factor of being a first responder, Negedly said, is the ability to work on your toes.

“There’s no routine, every day is different, and that’s one of the things I love about being a fireman. When I came to work today, I kind of expect certain things, but at any point, any call can come in.”

There are some constants in a 24-hour shift. Those at the stations have always made sure that their trucks and their gear are in tip-top shape. The crew also must find time in the day to workout, eat, and conduct safety inspections of local businesses.

When he’s not working at the fire station, Negedly instructs at Valencia College’s School of Public Safety, where he teaches students how to handle fire trucks.

“A lot of firemen work on the side because we don’t make enough to be just firemen,” Negedly laughed. “Passing on information has been one of my passions, and a lot of the guys were like, ‘Man, you should teach this stuff.’ I got hired as an instructor when it was the Central Florida Fire Academy, and I did that for several years.”

Negedly was later promoted to the program manager position of the Driver Operator Program, and since then, Valencia College operates the school. 

“I want everybody to be as trained as possible,” Negedly said. “I’ll give my students everything I’ve got, and if they want to learn, I’m there for them.”

As if that’s not enough, Negedly also directs the annual Orlando Fire Conference – a three-day event every February that hosts firefighters from around the country and even played host to 16 firefighters from Germany last year as well.

A lot of the instructors for the conference are there volunteering their time. One of them, Marc Weiss, a live-fire instructor, was recently diagnosed with Stage 3 pancreatic cancer.

“I saw a friend of his was doing a one-day class with the proceeds going to the treatment,” Negedly said. “And I thought to myself, ‘That’s not such a bad idea.’”

Negedly asked around to help put together the class, and 30 fellow instructors at the conference wanted to help. By the day of the class, there were 36 students and only six fewer instructors. All of the proceeds from the class, along with the funds collected from donations and a raffle, went towards Weiss’ treatment.

They were able to raise over $7,000 in that one day, and, as of our interview with Negedly, Weiss has begun a more aggressive round of treatment. The doctors are optimistic and have had success with this method on another patient.

When at home, Negedly tries to spend as much time as possible with his wife of 22 years and two kids – a 15-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter.

“We try to get out to the beach or on a boat as often as we can – anything near the water, boating, fishing, just hanging out on the water,” Negedly said. “It can be challenging to juggle everything, but we make it work.”

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