Zebulin Earl “Zeb” Smith was born on November 14, 1983, in Borger, Texas, where he was raised by his parents, Joe and Lisa Smith. He was “Bubba” to his siblings, Jennifer Anderson, Jessika Sanders, Matthew Smith, and Cody Smith. He graduated from Borger High School in 2002 and was a member of the church of Christ at Borger.

Zeb’s pride and joy were his two sons, Zane Smith and Braylan Brown. His boys were his life, and he did everything for them. He was such a proud dad.

Throughout Zeb’s life he had a deep love of all things rodeo and ranching. He started out riding bulls but quickly turned to team roping. This led him to working and lending a hand on area ranches and farms. He loved working cattle, as that was where he found his peace. He was a former member of the Hutchinson County Sheriff’s Posse. Growing up, Zeb was involved in raising pigs to show and sell at the Hutchinson County Livestock Show. He later became an active member of the board, ultimately serving as its president. He proudly served the kids of the county.

Zeb became involved in firefighting through his employment with Chevron Phillips Chemical Company. In 2016, he became a member of the company fire team. This led him to his greatest passion in life, firefighting. He jumped all in. In 2017, Zeb became a volunteer with the Fritch Volunteer Fire Department in Fritch, Texas. By 2020, he was honored to become fire chief of the FVFD. Zeb graduated from the Texas Fire Chiefs Academy in 2023. He took this very seriously and was so proud.

While at FVFD, Zeb worked tirelessly to obtain grants and donation to benefit his fire family and ensure his crew had the finest training and equipment they could get. During his time as chief, he was able to get two fire trucks donated to his department. The safety of his crew and his community was a top priority for Chief Smith.

Zeb had a Texas-sized smile that let you know he cared. He was available to help in any capacity, official or personal. He embodied a servant’s heart and took pride in helping his fellow man.

On March 5, 2024, Chief Zeb Smith answered his final call. Before that fateful day, Chief Smith led his crew for days battling one of the worst wildland fires in the state’s history, the Windy Deuce Wildland Fire. They were all exhausted. Early on that Tuesday morning the tones dropped for a house fire. Chief Smith did not hesitate. He was the first on scene and to enter the burning home to save anyone that may have been inside. Chief Smith collapsed inside.

Chief Zeb Smith left this world a true hero.