“To be honest with you, I didn’t like the way things were going,” said newly-appointed Polk County Fire Rescue Chief Shawn Smith.
Chief Smith, 51, has seen the department change drastically in size and culture since joining in 2003.
“From our stations to our trucks to the culture to the people power or our crews. When I was first here, we were a lot smaller of an organization,” he said.
Smith, who grew up in Michigan, said Polk County Fire Rescue was the first department to interview him and offer him a job nearly 22 years ago.
He accepted the job and never left, climbing the ranks from firefighter/EMT, lieutenant (which are now called captain), battalion chief, deputy chief, assistant chief and, as of this month, fire chief.
“I’ve walked in everybody’s shoes. So I have that relatability,” he said. “It’s been a little while since I’ve worked in that firefighter role but it was something I was good at and I think I could probably take over that hose right now and still do really well.”
Smith was named interim chief after former Chief Hezedean Smith resigned in protest in September after a report alleged he oversaw a toxic work environment.
Chief Smith said Polk County Fire Rescue demands a lot from leadership.
“It comes with a tremendous workload. We’re not built like a big metro organization that has a lot of money,” said Chief Smith, referring to other departments that have more staff on the administrative level.
On March 4, county commissioners voted unanimously to appoint Chief Shawn Smith as fire chief – the first chief in recent years to be hired from within the department.
“It was never a career ambition. I’m a blue collar individual. I like to work. I like to work hard. I like to be good at what I do. I came in and I started promoting through the ranks,” said Chief Smith.
Looking ahead, Chief Smith said he is excited about the department’s first training center, which broke ground this month.
“That’s going to be a $15 million project so we’re excited about that. It’s going to be state of the art. It’s going to be fantastic,” said Chief Smith.
Another priority for Chief Smith is addressing employee retention and mandatory overtime, which forces members to work an extra 24 hours beyond their regular 24-hour shift.
“A lot of them love working. They’ll give you 24 hours and they’ll give you 100% but chief, we don’t want to work, I don’t want to work another shift unless I want to or unless my family wants me to,” said Chief Smith.
In February, county commissioners approved the addition of 75 new positions, with the explicit goal of eliminating the need for mandatory overtime.
“It’s a burden on my heart and it’s a burden on anybody that cares for people. It’s been a part of our organization for a while. Are we trying to fix it? We’re trying to fix it. We’re trying to do everything we can,” said Chief Smith.
Jon Hall, president of IAFF 3531, which represents Polk County Fire Rescue members, told News Channel 8 the union is “incredibly excited” about Smith’s appointment.
“His years of dedicated service and passion for those he serves are amazing. We know Chief Smith will continue to act with professionalism and respect. We look forward to the years ahead, when we will continue to work together to make our department a destination for new firefighters for years to come,” stated Hall.
Chief Smith said his administration needs to gain the trust of his members back.
“We need to identify who we work for. We work for the members of this department that serve the community,” said Chief Smith.