Monroe County has hired an accomplished firefighting veteran as its new Fire/EMS Chief.
Matthew Jackson comes to Monroe County after 26 years with the Forest Park Fire/EMS Department, where he worked his way up the ranks to Deputy Fire Chief upon his 2018 retirement. After retiring, Jackson, 46, moved back to his hometown of Milledgeville, where he still resides today. Jackson and his fiancee, Carly Russell, plan to get married this fall, and he said they may relocate to Monroe County in 2021.
Jackson said he’s visited Monroe County many times, having trained at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center (GPSTC). He said he’s already well-acquainted with a pair of local fire/EMTs, having attended GPSTC classes taught by Forsyth Fire Chief David Herndon and worked in Forest Park alongside Monroe County Paramedic Kristy Bryant.
“I just think Monroe County is a real great community and a nice county, the kind of area I like,” Jackson said.
Jackson, who has two daughters, Mindy, 27, and Sienna, 14, and one son, Caleb, 17, said when he retired from firefighting in 2018, he went into the real estate business but decided his true calling was still fire service.
“When I retired, at that time I felt like I was retired,” Jackson said. “But after doing real estate for a little bit, I realized that’s not for me. I’ve been in the fire service for so long it’s probably just where I need to stay.”
After his family moved from Milledgeville to Henry County when he was 13 years old, Jackson began his fire service career at the youthful age of 15, beginning in an explorer program. At 18, Jackson became a volunteer and upon graduation from high school, he was hired full-time in Forest Park in 1993 at just 19 years old.
Jackson was eventually promoted to Sgt. Paramedic in 2004 before becoming a Station Lieutenant in 2005. In 2006, he was named Deputy Fire Marshal before taking over as EMS Director in 2009. During his tenure in Forest Park, Jackson received numerous awards, including twice being named Firefighter of the Year in 2000 and 2001. In addition, he received honors for multiple medical saves, multiple trauma saves and for his efforts while deployed for Hurricane Katrina relief.
Jackson said the most notable fire that occurred while he was in Forest Park happened in August 2010 when a blaze at a Clorox plant sent plumes of smoke into the air that was visible from Interstates 75 and 285. The blaze reportedly began when a truck carrying pine oil ignited on the plant’s loading dock, causing an explosion and shutting down both interstates. While three plant employees were treated for minor injuries, Jackson said no one was seriously hurt and the fire was put out before it could be further ignited by the plant’s bleach chemicals. In fact, Jackson proudly recalled that no Forest Park firefighters/EMTs were ever seriously injured during his 26 years on the job.
Jackson said most of the fire calls in Monroe County won’t be much different from those in Forest Park, but he said EMS calls could be a lot different in a more rural setting than urban metro-Atlanta. Jackson said the biggest difference is that Monroe County has more miles of interstate and bodies of water than Forest Park.
“It’s been pretty interesting around here for the past few days,” said Jackson, who was hired on May 7. “Coronavirus and some pretty big car wrecks and river rescues and search-and-recovery and all that kind of stuff. Our population is about the same as Forest Park. But of course Monroe County is much, much bigger than the City of Forest Park was, so we’ve got a bigger jurisdiction to cover.”
Monroe County’s interim Public Safety Director Brian Meadows, who helped lead the search to hire the new chief, said Jackson was the top candidate because he met all four major criteria outlined in the application process. Meadows said Jackson is not only experienced as a firefighter, paramedic and in emergency management, but he is also accomplished in the classroom, holding a Masters in Public Administration with a concentration in Fire and Disaster Management from Kaplan University.
Meadows said of Jackson: “He’s a good hire. He’ll serve these people well for a long time.”
Jackson said he doesn’t anticipate any major changes in the department under his watch. He said the biggest difference is the recent addition of a new training officer, David Brown, and the addition of a deputy chief, a position currently being held on an interim basis by Cpt. Jason Lott. Jackson said Monroe County presently has a total of 41 full-time employees, 36 firefighters (12 per shift) and 5 persons in administration. He said he’d like to increase that number in the future, but the most pressing issue is to raise the number of county fire volunteers. Jackson said Brown and Cpt. Shane Cook, the department’s public information officer (PIO), are working closely with the volunteers to identify their needs.
“We would like to see them (volunteers) more active and of course we would like to add some of the numbers there,” Jackson said. “Volunteerism in the fire service as a whole is down across the country. Between careers and family life, people just don’t have the time or the ability to volunteer like they did 50 years ago.”
In addition to leading the county’s Fire/EMS Department, Jackson will double as the county’s Emergency Management (EMA) Director. Jackson said most Monroe County emergencies will include tornadoes and ice storms, just like in Forest Park, but he said Coronavirus concerns appear likely to stay on the front burner for EMA.
He said, “The COVID-19 has kind of taken the cake as the new norm as the public disaster.”
Jackson said Monroe County EMA will continue giving frequent updates on social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter. The county is also in the process of converting its emergency alert system to a more modernized one called “Code Red,” which should be up and running soon.
Perhaps the most impressive achievement that occurred in Forest Park under Jackson’s watch came in 2016 when his department received the highest recognition from the state’s Insurance Service Office (ISO), achieving a 1 rating status. Forest Park became the first fire department in Clayton County to achieve a 1 ISO rating. ISO ratings, which impact homeowner insurance rates, are determined by a combination of factors, including water supply, fire department staffing levels/training and emergency communications, etc. Monroe County, which has a much larger area to cover than Forest Park, presently has a 5 ISO rating.
Jackson said, “Realistically I wouldn’t see a county this size getting down to a 1, but I think there is room for improvement. But it’s not a quick process. It’s a slow process.”
Jackson said he eagerly accepts all challenges as Monroe County Fire/EMS Chief.
“I definitely look forward to working with the folks here,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of positive interactions with all the county officials and city officials that I’ve met so far, so I’m feeling real positive about the position and what we can accomplish over time.”
