Hoover police, fire departments thank Smith family for bronze sculptures

The Hoover Fire Department and Hoover Police Department on Tuesday took time to thank former Hoover Council President Gene Smith and his wife, Pam, for donating funds to create bronze sculptures honoring the work of the two departments.

The Smiths donated more than $100,000 to pay for the two sculptures, police Chief Nick Derzis said.

The Fire Department’s sculpture, called “Forced Entry,” is of a Hoover firefighter in full gear with a crowbar, prepared to gain entry into a building. It stands at one of the entrances to the Hoover Public Safety Building on Valleydale Road and was created by sculptor Austin Weishel of Loveland, Colorado.

The Police Department’s sculpture is of a Hoover police officer holding hands with two children and stands in front of the Police Department’s Frank and Pam Barefield Training Center on Municipal Drive. It was created by Brodin Studios in Kimball, Minnesota.

Fire Chief Clay Bentley said the Smiths have always been dedicated supporters of public safety efforts in Hoover. Gene Smith spent 17 years as a Hoover firefighter from March 1976 to September 1993 and went on to serve four terms on the Hoover City Council, the last four years as council president.

Bentley said when he was appointed fire chief in 2017, he got himself into a “hornets’ nest.” Mayor Frank Brocato was a former Hoover fire marshal and battalion chief, former City Administrator Allan Rice was a former Hoover fire captain, and Smith (president of the City Council) was a former Hoover fire captain.

“I had a whole bunch of bosses, but I want to say that Mr. Smith was always one of my biggest supporters,” Bentley said. “We may not have always agreed on everything, but he always supported us in everything we did. I don’t think there’s ever been a time that I’ve ever called him and asked for something that he was not there. He still calls regularly. He still comes by regularly. … He loves the Fire Department. He loves the Police Department. He loves our city. His support has been unwavering.”

Derzis echoed those comments, saying Smith has always come through whenever he called him trying to raise money for something.

The Police Department’s new training center is visited by law enforcement officers across the country, and one of the first things people comment on is the sculpture outside the front entrance, Derzis said.

Smith said he and his wife wanted something visual for people to see and recognize the work done by Hoover’s public safety officials. The sculpture of the police officer holding hands with children is indicative of the Hoover Police Department’s commitment to protect the most vulnerable people — children, Smith said.

He also would like to come up with a sculpture to honor Hoover’s 911 operators, who are the third leg in the triangle of public safety in the city, he said. But it may be a couple of years before that effort can get started, he said.