MANSFIELD — Shawn Yerian worked with Dan Crow at Station 3 when they joined the Mansfield Fire Department in 2005.
Both arrived in Mansfield seeking careers in the fire service — Crow from Cleveland and Yerian from Wayne County.
Fast-forward two decades and the two are linked again.
Crow, now the department chief, welcomed Yerian on Wednesday as the department’s newest assistant chief.
“We came up through the ranks together and I am excited and privileged to welcome you into our leadership team now as you take the role from operations up to fire administration,” Crow said during a ceremony in Mansfield City Council chambers.
“I know you’ve prepared yourself for that. I know you’re ready for the challenge and I think there’s a lot of exciting things that we’re going to do here in the future and I’m just so glad that you get to be a part of that,” said Crow, who became chief in December 2023.
Yerian was one of three officers promoted on Wednesday during a ceremony that also included the swearing-in of two new firefighters.
Also promoted were firefighter Jedidiah Cronebach to lieutenant and Lt. Christopher Sacramone to captain. New firefighters Jackson Boyd and Tyler Elliott took oaths to join the MFD.
(Below are photos taken Wednesday afternoon in Mansfield City Council chambers as the Mansfield Fire Department promoted three officers and swore in two new firefighters. The story continues below the gallery.)
Oaths were administered by Safety-Service Director Keith Porch. Mayor Jodie Perry was in an audience that filled council chambers.
Yerian, who rose to captain in 2022, will take charge of “C” crew, one of four assistant chiefs in the MFD.
Yerian, who has helped the Mansfield Fire Department obtain more than $1 million in outside financial assistance through his grant-writing efforts, said he was eager for the next challenge in his career.
“I will be a lot more focused on training, a lot more focused on officer development. The city was gracious enough to send me to school for a lot of my training (to help him prepare and advance),” Yerian said.
“We are a very young department. I am replacing an assistant chief who had 25 years on the department. Chief Crow and I came on together … so it’s a very young department,” he said.
Yerian had worked in firefighter recruitment and retention, which he said remain key goals in the department.
One thing he said hasn’t changed in his time in the department is the goal of serving the community.
“It’s what we have always done. We’re serving the community. We’re answering those 911 calls. We’re getting trucks on the road and people out there to take care of the community.
“I think that the thing that’s changed is we’re asked to do a lot and the resources are just getting smaller, budgets are tighter. There is more demand for service and we’re doing more with less,” Yerian said.
He will remain active in his efforts to seek outside grants to help fund the department.
“Actually, AFT and FEMA grants are going to be opening up pretty soon, so I’m working with Chief Crow and a couple of officers. We’re looking at replacing some nozzles and hoses that are just … we actually don’t even know how old they are because they don’t even have dates on them,” he said with a laugh.
“But I’ll still be able to serve in that role.”
During the ceremony, Crow also praised Sacramone and Cronebach.
“You have grown so much in your career,” the chief told Sacramone. “You get the opportunity to step into captain and go straight into Station 4 and take over command of our hazmat team as the operation’s captain for that role.
“Your background has certainly prepared you to do that,” Crow told the new captain.
“Chris has been part of our tactical paramedic team for many years now and has definitely trained himself, prepared himself, and I know (he) is going to be a great leader for us and I’m really excited to see (him) get started with that,” the chief said.
Crow said he was probably most excited for Cronebach.
“I remember being a firefighter at Station 1 when Jed first started as a probationary firefighter. It’s really been exciting to see how you’ve grown as a person, as a man, as a firefighter, and I know you are ready to take this step and to be a leader.
“I’m really happy to see you get the opportunity to do it and we’re looking forward to really great things from you,” Crow said.
The chief also welcomed Boyd and Elliott.
“I always say thank you for choosing to join our department, because there’s a lot of competition out there these days for your services. Recruiting really good people who have all of the right characteristics to join our team is something that we try very hard to make happen,” Crow said.
“To the families of these new members, thank you for allowing them to serve with us. Being the family of a first responder is not always easy, right? They need your support system at home and outside of work because they’re going to go through things that are going to be challenging, not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally.
“Having family support is key to that,” Crow said.