Jefferson Fire and Rescue Chief Sheridan Bond, 55, announced to fellow firefighters during an annual fire department meeting Thursday night he is officially resigning from his position as chief.
He will continue to be Jefferson’s Fire Chief until the department’s April 15 annual meeting, when member firefighters vote in new officers and a new fire chief is appointed. Though Bond is stepping down as fire chief, he is not stepping down from being a firefighter.
Bond has been an active firefighter since age 15. He became assistant chief at age 20. He held the position of fire chief at Jefferson Fire and Rescue for over two years, but has decided to let someone else take over the reins.
“There are a lot of new challenges for the county coming down the road,” said Bond, who also serves as a Lincoln County Commissioner. “I want to be sure to be ready for that.”
Keeping him awake at night are the stresses of operating a business in a slumped economy, caring for his elderly mother and the decisions facing county commissioners. The county has taken on a larger role in Bond’s life and cutting back on his responsibilities became a necessity.
“I didn’t come to this decision lightly,” Bond said. “I just can’t do it all. Something had to go.”
Bond will remain on the all-volunteer fire department as a firefighter and said he felt a little relieved at the prospect of not doing all the paperwork assigned to the chief’s desk.
“A lot of people don’t realize what a responsibility it is to be chief,” he said, adding how the other night, he went out to get something to eat for dinner and felt as if a big weight had lifted off his shoulders.
Bond said the fire department’s membership has increased in the past couple of years, including the addition of some younger firefighters who are in the midst of training.
“Hopefully that trend will continue,” he said.
When former Fire Chief Bob Walker died in 2008, hundreds of people came to pay their respects during a ceremony held at the Jefferson Village School. Bond had been acting Fire Chief in Walker’s absence and soon took responsibility in April of that year.
Bond said one of the first actions he took was to ask each of the firefighters what goals and aspirations they had for the department. Firefighters were given officer roles and duties according to their experience and training.
The new chief will have a full plate, Bond said, as there are many responsibilities tied to the position.
“The job has changed,” he said. “I spend every week doing paperwork.”
Bond mentioned several tasks he took on as chief: risk management implementation, well water testing, monthly emergency light testing, written hazard communication program and training, annual Bureau of Labor standards on occupational injury and illness survey, insurance report requests, ISO review reports, surveys and insurance company mandates.
A fire chief wears many hats and requires skills beyond the experience of firefighting techniques. According to Bond, a fire chief is also part psychologist, part manager. The job requires the ability to interpret and deal with all of the new regulations fire departments have to follow.
The regulations have made firefighting safer, Bond acknowledges, but being on the fire department has become a full-time job. Routine meetings each Thursday night of each month involves regular firefighting techniques, emergency medical service training, a business meeting, which includes vehicle checks and an officers’ meeting.
Training not only helps to ensure the safety of the firefighters, but also acts as a buffer against liability for the fire chief. Bond said his department has at least one member still under age 18 who is undergoing training as an “explorer scout.”
“I think he’s going to be a big asset,” Bond said. “We have a lot of good personnel.”
There is no shame in striving to learn and try new techniques, as Bond will tell anyone. He recalled how he was the first member of his department to wear the nylon hood beneath his helmet. Fellow firefighters teased him for wearing the hood, which is cream-colored and fits snugly against one’s head. He and a number of others went to a structure fire on a cold, winter day around that time. They had to stand on the roof, where winds chilled the firefighters’ ears. Shortly after, Bond saw other members of his team wearing the hoods now common among most fire departments in the county.
“I was always eager to try things out,” Bond said. “I wanted to be prepared for anything and everything.”
Bond said he is confident about the 30-plus members on Jefferson Fire and Rescue and encourages others to continue their training. He said fire chiefs could be arrested for manslaughter if an improperly trained and under-qualified firefighter dies at a scene. Bond said he would not assign firefighters to certain tasks if they were not properly trained.
On remaining a firefighter, Bond said, “I will die as a firefighter,” adding he is diabetic and thanks God for watching over him throughout his years with the department.
Bond said he would support the incoming chief to the best of his abilities. He has been Acting Fire Chief under three chiefs: his own father in 1974, Roger Orff and Robert Walker. He said he has learned a lot from all of them.
