Oxford’s newest firefighter is no stranger to Wildcat country. He was born and raised here.

Last week, the township board voted 5-0 to hire Richard Dovorak as a full-time firefighter/paramedic. His first day will be Nov. 27 and starting wage will be $17.85 per hour.

“It feels amazing. I can’t wait to start,” said Dovorak, a 2014 Oxford High School graduate who began his education at Clear Lake Elementary.

He will replace Benjamin Frantz, who was promoted to lieutenant fire inspector last month.

Dovorak originally joined the Oxford Fire Dept. as a paid-on-call member in January 2015 after seeing a recruitment ad in the Leader.

“I just thought it would be a cool idea,” he said.

During that time, he began taking criminal justice classes at Oakland Community College with the intention of becoming a police officer. But running calls for Oxford showed him his true passion was for firefighting.

He later left Oxford and went to work on a  full-time basis for the fire departments in Waterford and Rochester Hills.

Dovorak is pleased to know his skills and experience will soon be used to help folks in the town that helped mold him into the person he is today. “It’s home,” he said.