Mitchell Kirk | Daily Reporter
The Vernon Township Fire Department’s first group of full-time firefighters takes their oath of service Oct. 29 at Mercy Road Church in Fortville
VERNON TOWNSHIP — One of Hancock County’s fastest-growing areas now has full-time firefighters for the first time in its history.
The Vernon Township Fire Department recently swore in its first class of nine members, culminating a nearly three-year effort that took fire protection in the township from its volunteer beginnings to a force of career employees.
Along with fire protection, the department provides ambulance service to the Vernon Township Fire Protection Territory, which includes the township’s unincorporated areas and the towns of Fortville and McCordsville.
Jason Warrick, a captain with the department, said he’s proud and honored to be among the department’s first full-time firefighters. He served McCordsville’s volunteer fire department for 13 years and then became paid-per-run followed by paid-part-time as the Vernon township department was formed in 2019.
It’s a continuation of a lifelong calling, Warrick said.
“I think for a lot of kids, it’s just something we wanted to do when we got older,” he said. “And being a volunteer and seeing all this come to fruition, and the opportunity presented itself, so I’m very fortunate.”
Public safety has to grow along with a community, he continued.
“We’re headed in the right direction,” he said. “It’s a growing community, and they deserve it.”
Mark Elder, deputy chief, said the department is expected to do 1,500 runs this year, a 17% increase from last year and a 34% increase from 2017. Reserve firefighters will continue to supplement the now full-time force, he added.
Like Warrick, Shaun Nelson is proud to be part of the department’s first class.
“It’s definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience to go through, to be able to build from the foundation up and make it a part of what we want to be as a department, to serve the community and support the mission,” Nelson said.
Richard Hiser, also among the township’s first full-time firefighters, has been in the fire service 15 years, seven career. He’s originally from Fortville and has watched the town and surrounding area grow.
“Coming over here, being in on the ground floor with everybody, being able to build this place, it’s just a very, very good opportunity for all of us,” he said.
Family members of the firefighters as well as local and state officials gathered for a swearing-in ceremony at Mercy Road Church in Fortville on Friday evening, Oct. 29, to celebrate the occasion and reflect on what it took to get there.
While Chad Abel has been the department’s chief since March 2020, there was little time for the pomp and circumstance of swearing him in as the COVID-19 pandemic started and township officials prepared for the difficult task of creating a fire territory.
Indiana Sen. Mike Crider, R-Greenfield, swore in Abel at Friday’s ceremony. Abel then swore in Kiely Culberson, emergency medical services chief; Elder; and Scott Hathaway, chief of training. Then it was on to his nine new full-time employees.
“I expect you to lead,” Abel told them. “I expect you all to make decisions that serve our mission. I expect you to respond as professionals, and I expect you to be aggressive. But I also expect you to have fun and enjoy the ride. This is the best job in the world.”
Florence May, Vernon Township trustee, recalled the sacrifices entities had to make to their tax bases to create the fire protection territory, like the township’s towns and Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation. She thanked all those who came together to make the territory and full-time workforce happen.
“You’re at the heart of what this is about,” she told the firefighters. “You signify almost three very, very hard years.”
Indiana State Fire Marshal Joel Thacker shared words of wisdom with the group.
“You will witness the best of humanity as well as the worst,” he told them. “You will be called upon to step in at a moment’s notice and answer the call. That call will expose you to a wide variety of situations — some simple, others complex. Some situations you will be able to fix, others you will not. At all times you will be expected to make the situation better than you found it.”
Tom Hanify, president of the Professional Firefighters Union of Indiana, welcomed his new brothers from Vernon Township before congratulating and thanking them.
“It’s a high honor when you say, ‘I will do what I have to do to protect my community,’ as an oath,” he said. “You can’t violate that. You have to live up to it.”
