Lake fire truck dedicated to Amos Roach, grandfather of country music artist Michael Ray

EUSTIS − Lake County Fire Station 21 dedicated its new fire engine in honor of the late Amos Roach, who served as a Lake County Fire captain and donated the land off Highway 44A that the station sits on today. His grandson, country music artist Michael Ray, was in attendance with his family on Monday to honor his grandfather.

“We always joked with him that he was the most famous guy we knew because everyone in town knew him,” Ray said. “He was always helping and always the first one to lend a hand and give the shirt off his back to a stranger. He put a lot of time and love into this place.”

Ray was very close to his grandfather and attributes his love of music to growing up playing with him. At Ray’s Grand Ole Opry debut, just one month after his grandfather’s passing, he took the stage with his grandfather’s guitar.

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All about Amos Roach

Roach was an Army veteran, retired from the phone company as the "telephone man,” and served as a Lake County firefighter. He died in 2015.

In 1985 Lake County Fire Rescue was split into districts under the Lake County Board of Commissioners, with 28 firefighters on the payroll and a large group of volunteer firefighters.

“Before Station 21 was built, Amos had constructed a building on Ranch Road and the Mount Plymouth Fire Station gave him a squad and tankard to start fire protection in this area,” Fire Chief Jim Dickerson said during the dedication ceremony. “When Station 21 was built in 1987, Amos became the captain for several years. Amos was a champion for fire service in Lake County. It is only fitting to name Engine 21 in the memory of Amos Roach.”

Lt. Jeremy Searcy recalled driving by Roach’s Grocery and noted the rich history the Roach family has in the community. 

“I had the privilege of knowing Amos when he worked for the phone company,” Searcy said. “He came to my house many times for the phone work and we were able to swap a few stories and even play guitar. I always admired Amos for the love he had for his family, his passion for his music, his passion for this community and gracious endowment of donating this land.”

Amos’ son Jerry served in the Lake County EMS system for many years and proudly unveiled the dedication, which read “Amos” on the side of Station 21’s new fire engine.

“It’s a great, great honor to see the county reaching out and recognizing his efforts for the many years he put it,” Jerry Amos said. “This station wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him. He made sure everything stayed clean, the grass was mowed and took care of businesses. We are very honored for this dedication.”

This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Lake County's newest fire truck dedicated to the late Amos Roach