From Division I football semifinalists to joint ride-along shifts, Brett Bowen and Jason Smith have been teammates for a long time.
With more than two decades under their belt with the Violet Township Fire Department, they are taking strides in their new roles as fire chief and assistant fire chief, respectively, to continue to grow the Department with the community.
Fire Chief Bowen
Ray LaVoie
Chief Bowen
While Smith grew up in Pickerington, Bowen spent several years of his childhood in Memphis, Tennessee, for his dad’s work, before moving to Pickerington when he was in sixth grade.
A year apart in school, both Bowen and Smith grew up playing football and baseball, and later played football together at Pickerington High School. During that time, the team won several OCC Championships and competed regionally, becoming the state semifinalists in 1999.
High school was also the start of their careers in fire service, as they began ride-alongs with the Violet Township Fire Department as members of the Fire Explorer program.
Bowen’s connection to the program came through a unique path. Though a sister’s babysitting gig is not the typical networking opportunity, it was what allowed Bowen to connect more closely with the late John Eisel. His older sister, Heidi, babysat for the Eisel family, and was the connection that set Bowen on the path towards a career in fire service.
Then-Lieutenant who later became Fire Chief and Township Administrator, Eisel recommended Bowen join the Fire Explorers program at 16 and became his dad at the fire station, teaching him the ropes.
“I owe a lot of my career to John Eisel, specifically, because he’s the entire reason I ever stepped foot in this place,” Bowen says.
Following his graduation from Pickerington High School in 2001, Bowen completed three things that summer in close succession: celebrating his 18th birthday, finishing the six-week fire academy program and starting his bachelor’s at Eastern Kentucky University.
Over the next year, Bowen studied fire protection administration and played football as a preferred walk-on before stepping away when the opportunity to rejoin the team at Violet Township opened up.
He returned part-time to the Department while working his way through Columbus State Community College’s paramedic program. He began working full-time at the Department in June 2004, where he has been ever since.
Over the years, Bowen became involved with the union, going on to become the Vice President, then President of the local sector of the International Association of Fire Fighters, a position he has held for 12 years.
He also continued to work his way up through administrative positions with the Department, taking courses online through Eastern Kentucky University to prepare, alongside learning on-the-job management skills.
Assistant Chief Smith
Ray LaVoie
Assistant Chief Smith
Smith was fascinated by the fire service profession from a young age. During a presentation in junior high, Smith became intrigued by the ins and outs of the career, which led him to join the Fire Explorer program in his sophomore year.
Smith volunteered at the Department after graduation, while attending the fire academy and medic school at the OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, both of which he finished within a year.
Smith then returned to the Violet Township Fire Department part-time, while taking on a full-time position at the Hamilton Township Fire Department.
“That was a great experience of a whole different climate, a whole different background of people, being able to adapt,” Smith says. “It’s always good to see how other fire departments do a very similar job, and I think it’s always good to be open to different ways.”
In April 2003, he accepted the opportunity to become a full-time employee with Violet Township.
He went back to acquire his bachelor’s in fire administration online through Waldorf University and became a part of the Ohio Fire Executive Association.
Becoming Chiefs
Ray LaVoie
From their initial start as explorers to firefighters and paramedics to a variety of leadership roles, neither expected to be working on the other side of the administration desk. But the encouragement and support from senior team members led them in that direction.
Recently retired Fire Chief Mike Little and retired Assistant Chief Jim Paxton are just a few examples. Before Paxton’s retirement, Little and Paxton had Bowen shadow them to see the policies, procedures, budgeting and strategic management involved in the administrative position over the day-to-day task management of his then-Battalion Chief role.
This went on for more than a year and a half, preparing Bowen to become the Assistant Chief. Then, when Little approached retirement, they took a similar tactic with Smith, allowing both Bowen and Smith to sit in on meetings and make decisions under his guidance before they were ready to fully take over. Little even created a book of knowledge to share all the things to remember, which Bowen coined as his book of nuggets.
“He put together a little manual of important information for us, and then we would go through it and ask questions. He would answer them or expand on it,” Bowen says. “Our leadership is all about making the next person better, and he and Jim Paxton went out of their way to teach us and mentor us along.”
Looking forward
Ray LaVoie
As they head into the next year in their new roles, Bowen and Smith want to continue to maintain current services and find ways to provide more for the community with improved technology and equipment.
Internally, they are passionate about increasing accessibility to training and learning opportunities for the team, from mentoring to external training and networking, as well as teaching opportunities at the academy and fire programs.
“We were given that opportunity to help us grow, and people gave us the opportunity and helped mentor us. We have to do the same to continue that opportunity for all the members, finding out what their aspirations and goals are, and helping them facilitate that,” Smith says.
Likewise, they are prioritizing listening to the field team to learn about new techniques they are learning at fire academy, medic school and conferences, as well as situations in the field to implement into their strategy.
From their time in the field to the current climate, the number of runs per day has tripled. With this, a strong support system and an ability to decompress are priorities for the team.
“It doesn’t seem like we were that slow back then, so I can only imagine what these guys are feeling,” Bowen says. “We have to keep that in mind to take care of our people too and make sure we have the resources and processes in place to help them and do whatever we can to support them when they need it.”
Jane Dimel is an assistant editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at jdimel@cityscenemediagroup.com.
