ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Early 2026 saw the resignation of former Seward County Fire Chief Andrew Barkley.
The resignation came amidst videos in which Seward County Commission Chairman Steve Helm and Vice Chairman Todd Stanton in phone conversations with Barkley on his way to help fight several area fires in regards to the potential need for Administrator April Warden to have a radio in the event of such emergencies.
Following Barkley’s resignation, the commission temporarily hired firefighter Braden Steckel to be the interim fire chief until a full-time replacement was hired.
Recently, commissioners voted to replace Steckel with a familiar face who comes to the job with much experience.
Mike Rice began working as a volunteer with the Seward County Fire Department in January 1983, and he retired as fire chief in September 2014. Rice said when he saw the opening for a fire chief, he instantly applied, and he began his second stint with the fire department officially July 1, looking to build upon the previous 31 years.
“I saw the opening, and I had missed stuff going on,” he said. “I missed the calls, missed the people, and it seemed like the right time to put in an application and see what happens.”
As he starts his next turn as fire chief, Rice said he is simply looking to keep things moving foward with the department for now.
“I’ve got a very good group of people right now,” he said. “They’ve made the transition for me extremely easy, and I’m hoping that’s going the same way for them.”
The county’s budget has been a hot topic for some time now, but Rice said the Rural Fire District’s budget is sitting good for the upcoming fiscal year.
“There are no big increases on our part to be turned in for this year,” he said.
Rice said SCFD has had a full-time opening recently, and the department is always looking for volunteers to help fight fires.
“That’s an ongoing thing,” he said. “We’ll always be looking because it seems you’re never full, or by the time you get full, somebody leaves. We’re short on numbers, but we’re gaining.”
Thus far, Rice said he is enjoying his return to the fire chief position.
“I’m finally starting to get settled in,” he said. “The first two or three weeks were a lot of meetings and readjusting. Things are starting to settle in to a normal routine again.”
The first half of 2026 saw much in the way of fires in the area, and despite recent rains, Rice said it is hard to tell what the fire forecast will look like for the rest of the year.
“There’s not any real foreseen moisture in the forecast,” he said. “We’ve got a couple days coming up where there’s a chance of some rain, but we’re back to that situation where the dead stuff is dead and it’s not going to turn green overnight when we get some rain.”
Rice said he is excited as he comes back to work for the fire department for a second time.
“It’s been good so far,” he said. “There’s no complaints from me at all right now.”
