Lawton Fire Chief Jared Williams wouldn’t want to do anything else but don the heavy firefighting gear and help someone in need.
“I love it. There’s nothing I ever wanted to do more than be a firefighter,” he said. “I was a little boy who wanted to be a firefighter and never grew out of it.”
Maybe that’s because his dad was a volunteer firefighter for Elgin, and that youngster watched how his father made a difference in the community.
“I think that’s the aspect I love most, and that’s trying to help people through those worst times,” he said.
But there are also good times, like the call where Williams helped deliver a baby.
Yet on Nov. 18, 2008, he was part of a team that was forced to rescue a person from a trench cave-in. The rescue took 14 hours and although they saved the man’s life, it’s a call that Williams will never forget.
The family connection to firefighting has kept Williams on track despite the tough times. His grandfather, Dan Carr, was Elgin’s first fire chief, and his dad was one of the original volunteers.
“It’s always been a piece of our family,” Williams said. “I can’t complain. It (firefighting) has treated me and my family very well. Most days, I feel like I don’t have to work.”
Williams, appointed as fire chief in January, has spent the last 22 years in three divisions – training, operations and fire prevention. After all these years, Williams teaches the younger firefighters about the need to work together.
“We have a great team, and it takes a village or team to get things done,” he said.
Williams was hired as a rookie firefighter in 2000, promoted to assistant training officer in 2005 and made training officer in 2009. He was named deputy fire chief in 2019 before his promotion to fire chief earlier this year.
Williams, who oversees 150 fire department personnel at eight stations, said the team approach makes his job much easier.
“I’ve got a good deputy chief, and we’re always interfacing with the public so they know what our job is,” he said. “Firefighting takes every one of us. The fire chief is no more important than anyone else in the department. My job is to support them, support the citizens and keep pushing the mission forward so firefighters can do their job.”
Williams has an extensive background in incident command, rescue and hazmat. He also serves as a field instructor for the Oklahoma State University Fire Service Training program, where he teaches fire, hazmat, National Incident Management System and rescue programs.
In 2012, Fire Service Instructors of Oklahoma honored Williams as Instructor of the Year.
He has been integral in coordinating emergency preparedness efforts on behalf of the city of Lawton during his tenure at the department and continues to collaborate with partner agencies to organize trainings and various initiatives to advance the operations of first responders in southwest Oklahoma.
His work has brought awards including the 2012 Instructor of the Year for Oklahoma and Lawton’s Firefighter of the Year in 2002.
Williams, whose son plays for the Elgin High School varsity football team, is president of the Elgin Quarterback Club and a deacon at Connection Church in Elgin.
Williams graduated from Elgin High School and attended Northwestern Oklahoma State University, where he played football and studied health and physical education. He earned an associate degree in fire technology from Western Oklahoma State College.
Williams and his wife, Cynthia, have one child.