Mission Firefighters Association President Mike Silva has seen it all in his tenure.

When he was hired in November 1998, Local 3609 had not been formed, fire department-based EMS was not a thing, and the department only had six members per shift running out of two stations.

Fast forward 24 years since Silva was hired, and the fire department is a completely different place. Today, Mission is served by five fire stations with 22 firefighters per shift, keeping pace with a growing city. Of those members, about 92 percent are represented by Local 3609.

“Keeping up with demands requires support from city officials,” Silva said. “Our current city officials have done an exemplary job on public safety.”

Silva was promoted to lieutenant in 2004, the same year the local was organized. He served 10 years as president of the local, two years as vice president, and a five-year term as a trustee, before returning to the president’s role in 2022.

During his time serving Mission and its firefighters, Silva helped organize a referendum to get the fire department on board with civil service hiring guidelines, and he was instrumental in transitioning to fire department-based EMS.

“Emergency care should be about people, not profits – our community deserves that,” Silva said. “Our mayor and our current council has allowed us to participate in fire department-based EMS and has provided us the tools we need to serve our citizens.”

Silva has also served the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters as a district legislative agent starting in 2014 and was elected trustee in 2020.