Firelands Ambulance Service District Board has appointed Jeffrey Scott as its new Chief over the volunteer agency. While Scott has been with Firelands for only a short time as a volunteer paramedic, the Board unanimously agreed he is the right person to fill this position, to lead the agency and its volunteers into the future.
Scott is an Ashland, Ohio, native, and has served a wide variety of roles all throughout his career, including his beginnings as a Fire Explorer in 1986 with Ashland Fire Department, becoming a volunteer firefighter/EMT in 1989 with Orange Township (Nankin), and in 1991, accepting a fulltime firefighter/paramedic position in Columbus, Ohio, and graduating from Hocking College with his associate degrees in EMS and fire science. Scott’s education also includes a bachelor’s degree in public safety management and a master’s degree in business administration, both from Franklin University.
Scott eventually moved on to attending the police academy in 1996, after several years as an arson investigator, and eventually moved into a full-time law enforcement career, rising through the ranks, and retiring finally as a police chief in 2019 for an agency in the Cleveland, Ohio-area, all the while, continuing his work as a firefighter (lieutenant), paramedic, chief paramedic, EMS instructor, emergency management coordinator, and his years as a fixed wing and helicopter flight paramedic and critical care paramedic. Scott has served over 37 years in the public safety arena, and he has no intentions of slowing down, in order to serve and help others…his life’s passion and focus. Scott is also a nationally recognized leadership instructor and often sought to help agencies in leadership development, strategic planning, and budgeting.
While Scott is considered a relative newcomer to the New London community, he brings a mountain of leadership and community focused experience with him. Scott has already made a notable difference already, helping locate grants and money to upgrade pediatric rescue equipment, station maintenance and reorganization, implementing a progressive safety plan, to include an innovative BLOCKER program, and he is already implementing ways to save money on EMS and station supplies.
Promotion
Firelands Ambulance Service Board approved the chief’s recommendation for a new command structure to include a captain and three Lieutenant positions. The Board also approved the promotion and full-time appointment of longtime Paramedic Jeffrey Vanderpool to captain.
At the Boards last meeting, Chief Scott presented a proposal for a new command structure to be put in place, as part of his overall strategy to improve the agency, bring about accountability, and develop an opportunity for future leaders. This move allows Firelands EMS to be in line with nationally recognized rank structures for EMS agencies and put them in line with the National Incident Management System (NIMS).
