Hoyte Hale

Hoyte Hale, deputy fire chief for the Smithville Fire Department and director of the DeKalb County Emergency Management Service, died Sept. 29, 2024, at the age of 62. A Smithville native, Hale began his career as a volunteer with the Smithville Fire Department, serving with the department for 40 years and rising to the rank of deputy chief. Also an EMT-paramedic, Hale served for seven years as the assistant EMS director for DeKalb County before being appointed interim director in 2013. After two and a half years as interim director, he was named director in 2015, a position he served until his death.