MANSFIELD — Dan Crow has seen a few senior staffing changes since he took over as chief of the Mansfield Fire Department just four months ago.
He added two more to the list Wednesday morning when Capt. Robert Garn was promoted to assistant chief and Lt. Matthew Emerson was advanced to captain, both sworn in by Safety Service Director Keith Porch during a ceremony in City Council chambers.
“It’s been a year of transition for us,” said Crow, who took over when former Chief Steve Strickling retired at the end of November.
“Starting with Chief Strickling retiring last year and Assistant Chief (Jim) Bishop retiring just a week ago,” Crow said before the ceremony began.
(Photos from the promotion ceremony for new Mansfield Fire Dept. Assistant Chief Robert Garn and Capt. Matthew Emerson. The story continues below the gallery.)
“We’re losing a lot of experience. But I am really confident that the guys we’re replacing them with are up to the task of carrying on the mission of our fire department,” Crow said.
“Both members we are promoting today are experienced fire officers and have proven themselves to be good managers and supervisors,” the chief said. “I think they will step into their new positions and hit the ground running.”
Garn and Emerson have more than four decades of MFD experience between them.
Garn, a Hillsdale High School graduate who joined the MFD in 2000, was selected the department’s 2022 Firefighter of the Year.
Crow said an assistant chief’s role is “extremely important” in the department, responsible for oversight, quality management and ensuring “our programs (provide) the best possible service we can give to the city.”
Garn, who was joined by Bishop in pinning on his new badge, said he most looked forward to helping develop younger firefighters.
“What I am looking forward to most is helping the younger members of the department grow and do better in their positions,” Garn said.
In his new role, Garn will oversee EMS operations and have administrative oversight of the fire prevention bureau, both areas in which he has previous experience.
“I am going to miss being on the truck, running to the calls and helping the people of the community,” Garn said.
Crow said a captain in the MFD are “managing fire officers, so there is another whole level of responsibility.”
“Typically, our captains are responsible for an entire station, not only a crew within the station,” the chief said. “We assign them big programs in big areas of our mission.”
Emerson will be assigned to Station 1 on the “B” crew, Crow said.
“I am a firefighter at heart,” Emerson said. “I enjoy fighting fires and I still get to do a lot of that. That’s why I like the position of captain as opposed to assistant chief.
“We still get to fight fires,” the 47-year-old native of New York said.
Emerson, who joined the MFD in 1999 after graduating from Monroe Community College in Rochester, N.Y., said there are seldom dull moments in his line of work.
“A fire department is like a family. We do a a lot of interesting things together, especially on duty. You never what the next call is going to bring. So there’s a lot of interesting things you get to see,” he said.
Porch, who retired as chief of the Mansfield Police Department in February to accept his new role, praised the work of the firefighters.
He said retirements of senior staff members are always sad days for police and fire departments.
“Fortunately for us, (we) always have great people that are willing to step up into those roles, to ultimately carry on the mission of the fire department. So I want to congratulate you for that, being willing to step up into these supervisor roles,” Porch said.
Mayor Jodie Perry attended the ceremony and congratulated the duo.
“I love the opportunity to always promote and see our folks continue to rise in the ranks,” Perry said. “Congratulations. I look forward to working with you.”
Crow said the department has received letters from three additional firefighters who will be retiring within the next month.
“We’re currently looking to start interviewing (candidates),” he said. “We have gone through background checks on our list of candidates (developed) through the civil service test. We have a group that’s ready for final interviews so we can make employment officers to keep our staffing at our authorized level (of 93 firefighters).”