Ex-Fire Chief Smith passes away at 78

Flags were flown at half-staff on Friday as Ville Platte firefighters mourned the loss of one of their own.
Former longtime Ville Platte Fire Chief Reinel “Ronnie” Smith passed away suddenly on Thursday, January 26. According to family members, Smith died after he suffered a stroke earlier in the morning. Smith was 78 years old.
Funeral services will be held Sunday, January 29 at Queen of All Saints Catholic Church in Ville Platte.
For more than three decades, Smith served as the head man of the city’s fire department, becoming the city’s first paid fire chief. During his tenure with the department, Smith hired dozens upon dozens of firefighters, including the two men who would eventually succeed him as chief.
Ted Demouruelle, who took over as chief in 2005 and worked for Smith for nearly two decades prior to that promotion, remembered his former chief.
“He was a very good chief and very knowledgeable,” Demouruelle said. “He was a good very fire investigator. He was stern but he was always fair. He did his job.”
Demouruelle also reflected on how much he learned from Smith in their two-plus decades working together.
“I worked closely with him on the fire ratings here in town,” Demouruelle said. “He got me started on that and on the fire investigations. I learned a lot from him. It was an honor to work under him. We became very good friends.”
Ville Platte’s current Fire Chief, Chris Harrision, remembered how much Smith talked about his children and grandchildren and also just how dedicated he was to the fire department.
“He was very dedicated,” Harrison said. “He was strict on us at times but I never held that against him. Especially now that I am the chief I understand and appreciate why he was strict. Even though he may have been strict that didn’t make me like him any less. He was good man and a good chief.”