Sidney "Sid" Hall, born in 1954 in Portland, Indiana, to Arthur and Wanda Hall, first lived in Upland as a student at Taylor University and remained there after graduating in 1977 to begin work in the university's Buildings and Grounds Department, where he became known for dedicated and steadfast service and later became Maintenance Supervisor. In 1997 he went to work for Building Control Systems in Fort Wayne as a heating and cooling controls installer, a job that still brought him to Taylor's campus. Alongside his university and trade work, he devoted himself to the Upland Volunteer Fire Department as a 15-year veteran firefighter, serving as an Indiana First Class Firefighter, holding an Indiana Master in Arson Investigation, becoming a certified NFPA Fire Instructor, and filling the roles of Training Coordinator and Secretary. Each October he taught Upland elementary school children about fire safety, shared his love of the fire service with his sons, and involved his family in the life of the department through parades, support at fire calls, and the Apple Crate Derby. He was also active in Taylor University's Accutrack, where he trained both of his sons to work beside him, and he and his wife took part in the Upland United Methodist Church handbell choir, played piano duets, and supported the church's sound system. He played trumpet at U.S. Military burial services in Grant County, in the Mississinewa Valley Band, and in the Grant County Salvation Army band alongside his son Christopher. On January 3, 2007, while responding with the Upland Volunteer Fire Department to a residence fire, he was the first to enter a smoke-filled house and fell through a hole in the floor; after being rescued and airlifted to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, he died peacefully on January 5 in the line of duty. Remembered as a loving husband to Bonnie and a dedicated father to Christopher and Matthew, he was honored with the Medal of Valor, the Distinguished Hoosier Award, and recognition as a "Gift of Life" donor after giving his life for others.