Scott City Fire Department names new chief

The Scott City Fire Department announced a new fire chief Thursday.

Shawn Jackson, who was serving as interim chief, has been promoted to serve as the department’s new fire chief. Jackson became the interim chief at the end of August, and helped the department secure the city’s first ladder truck.

“We acquired it in November with the help of the City Council,” Jackson said. “We’ve just been moving things forward in a positive manner, and look forward to continue to do that.”

Jackson’s goals as chief are to continue increasing personnel, training and equipment.

“We’re looking forward to getting our roster built up a little more,” Jackson said. “We’ve been adding on EMTs and paramedics recently. We’ve got two more EMTs who are fixing to go through certification, and hopefully pass everything there. We want to provide better fire protection for our community. We have a goal of lowering our ISO (Insurance Services Office) rating, which hopefully will save some money on our insurance.”

Jackson said he hopes to be known for keeping the community and personnel safe, and providing the best protection and service to the community the department can.

The department employs a tight-knit group of volunteers who Jackson considers to be family.

“I consider the people I work around family,” Jackson said. “Currently, we have 20 volunteers, including myself, and we’re up to four EMTs and three paramedics, plus two more going to EMT school right now. A majority of our personnel is also emergency medical responder certified. Not only do we provide fire service, but we also provide medical service in our community and surrounding area as well.”

Jackson has volunteered at the Scott City Fire Department for 10 years, and is looking forward to the future as the new fire chief.

“I’m just excited to keep moving forward and progressing things in a positive manner, keeping our equipment maintained, getting better equipment and being able to provide our community a better service,” Jackson said.