By Natalie Morales
News-Sun Staff Writer
Every day of his life Mike Doan "demanded the best of himself," his wife Jill Doan said.
In his almost 30-year career with the Springfield Fire & Rescue Division, Assistant Chief Mike Doan worked his way through the ranks and left behind lessons in dedication, hard work and perseverance."Mike thought it was up to you not only to do your job well, but to find out how to do it better," said Jill, his wife of 25 years.
After a years-long bout with a rare form of cancer, Doan, 55, died Jan. 23.
A North High School graduate, Doan started out as a bank employee after high school, but after a 10-year run, moved on to follow his passion of becoming a firefighter in 1978.
"He said it was a lot more fun to ride on the trucks than it was to foreclose on commercial loans," Jill said.
During his career, Doan also took on the responsibility of being fire marshal for a time and became Clark County's hazardous materials coordinator.
Capt. Todd Bowser worked directly under Doan for about four years and said the assistant chief helped him mature in his career.
Bowser said Doan cared deeply for the city and had a vested interest in inspections and code enforcement and strived to do everything to the best of his abilities.
"I always thought he — out of all the supervisors I've had throughout my life — was very fair, and I'd like to take that from him and carry it on," Bowser said.