After a nearly six-month process, Doug Stewart has been named chief of the Jerome Township Fire Department. He will begin July 1. Pictured above are, from left Trustee Ron Rhodes, Stewart, Trustee C.J. Lovejoy and Trustee Joe Craft.
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The Jerome Township Fire Division has a new leader.
Doug Stewart has been hired as fire chief for Jerome Township, beginning July 1.
Stewart, who lives in Richwood, currently serves as assistant fire chief in the city of Delaware’s fire department. Stewart has been with the Delaware Fire Department since August 1997, taking over as assistant chief in January 2012.
“I look forward to the amazing opportunity to serve as the Jerome Township Fire Chief for the citizens of Jerome and Mill Creek Townships and the citizens of Union County,” Stewart wrote in a statement.
Trustee Joe Craft said after longtime chief Scott Skeldon announced his retirement in January, the township contracted with the Ohio Fire Chiefs’ Association (OFCA) to help find his replacement. Craft said the township received “about 30 interested applicants which were narrowed down to 15.”
“I was so pleased at the caliber of candidates that applied and were interested in working in Jerome Township,” Craft said.
He said OPFCA assessed seven candidates — two internal and five external. Lt. Brian Bemiller, one of the internal finalists, was named interim chief in April.
Craft said Stewart, “scored very well on the assessment.”
“(Stewart) demonstrated that he possesses the knowledge, skills, abilities, education and experience required for probable success as the fire chief with the Jerome Township Fire Division,” according to the evaluation. “The candidate was confident and enthusiastic throughout the assessment process, performing in a manner that effectively addressed each of the exercises.”
The trustees chose to interview four of the final seven candidates.
“We had four excellent interviews,” Craft said. “Doug (Stewart) actually presented a written plan of action for where he would like to take the Jerome Township Fire Department.”
Craft said in a rapidly growing area like southeastern Union County, five years is “really far out there,” but it is important for leaders to be thinking long term.
“With him (Stewart) taking time to write it down, that did set him apart,” the trustee said.
Craft said he spoke with each of the internal candidates personally and the conversations were “very positive.”
“We wanted to make sure they knew,” Craft said.
He said the process has taken “a remarkably long time,” but is important and township officials wanted to make sure it was done correctly.
The evaluation noted Stewart’s areas of strength including management control and leadership, decisiveness and administrative competency.
“The candidate was also effective in communicating his knowledge of the challenges facing the township and the need to implement greater planning processes in meeting these growing needs,” according to the evaluation.
Craft said Stewart will earn $86,500 annually, “with the final details of the contract to be worked out in good faith between the parties.”
Stewart was born in Ellsworth where he began his fire service career in 1986 with the Ellsworth Volunteer Fire Department. He was a firefighter in the U.S. Air Force for more than eight years. While with Delaware, Stewart also worked for a time with the Allen Township and Northern Union County fire departments.
Stewart is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program and earned a Masters’ Degree in Executive Fire Service Leadership from Grand Canyon University. He also serves as an instructor at both the Ohio High Point Career Center and Clark State Community College.
Stewart has what he calls “a large and loving family.”
“My family continues to grow and keep me busy with sporting events, 4H activities, horses and raising hogs,” Stewart wrote.
The Jerome Township Fire Department services both Jerome and Mill Creek townships. Both townships have dedicated fire levies to support the department.