NATCHEZ — Knowing he can help save lives is what kept Natchez Fire Chief Oliver Stewart motivated for 35 years.

“There’s not a lot of money involved in this, but once you become a firefighter, that’s what you want to do for the rest of your life,” said Stewart, who is set to retire June 30.

Stewart became a Natchez-Adams County firefighter in 1980.

He was 26 years old at the time, and eager to learn the ropes.

“I went up the ranks from firefighter, to lieutenant, to captain, to battalion chief,” Stewart said.

When the city offered him the fire chief position, Stewart said the transition was easy, as firefighting was something that was simply in his blood.

“When I started, I never imagined I would become chief,” Stewart admitted. “I just waited for my time, and it happened.”

Working with the city and county on fire protection for so many years, Stewart said it was inevitable for his job to become his passion.

While some of his memories are one of triumph, others are forever burned in his memory in a more somber tone.

Stewart recalled a residential fire on Camp Street, which resulted in the death of several children.

“When you first experience something like that, you can’t shake it,” Stewart said. “Those kinds of situations, they stick with you. You always think about it and remember it.”

While working with the city’s 54 firefighters, Stewart said his coworkers became family.

Not seeing his staff every day, Stewart said, will be difficult.

“You eat together, you sleep together, you become close,” Stewart said.

And while he won’t be working alongside his firefighters anymore, covering 465 square miles of city and county ground, Stewart said he’s confident his friendships won’t fade.

“I can always ride by and holler at them,” Stewart said with a smile. “I’ve been doing this for 35 years. It’s about time for me to hang up my hat.”

As he looks forward to retirement, Stewart said he is ready to relax a little, and spend more time with his five-year-old granddaughter, Amiyah Johnson.

“She said she wants to be the first lady firefighter,” Stewart said proudly.

Natchez Mayor Butch Brown said the city has already begun the process of hiring a new fire chief.

The city’s Civil Service Commission, Brown said, will prepare a list of three candidates, and then the board of aldermen will interview applicants.

Stewart said so far, the city has interviewed all four battalion chiefs — David Williams, Chris Gibson, Aaron Welsey and Leyland Rymer — for the position.

There has been no set date for when the city will announce Stewart’s replacement.