LAWTON – Jared Williams celebrated another milestone in his two-decade career with the Lawton Fire Department on Monday, when he received his badge as the city’s newest fire chief.
To mark the occasion, city officials hosted a pinning ceremony for Williams in the Lawton City Hall banquet room. He was chosen to lead the department in late January.
Following introductory remarks by City Manager Michael Cleghorn, Deputy City Manager Dewayne Burk pinned Williams’ new badge on him. Then Williams’ wife, Cynthia, and his father, Tommie, pinned his collar brass on him to mark his promotion.
Williams thanked his family and colleagues for their support and his former coaches and fire department officials for shaping him into the person he is today.
“Today’s not really about me, though,” he said. “Today and every day is about the citizens of Lawton. They are first, and they have to be first.”
Williams, who has worked for the fire department for 22 years, said he never expected that he would be chosen to lead the department.
“I just wanted to be a firefighter,” he said. “That’s all I ever wanted to do. And to be selected to be the chief, that’s very humbling.”
A native of Elgin, Williams served in the Elgin Fire Department along with his father before joining the Lawton Fire Department in 2000. He was promoted to assistant training officer in 2008 and became a training officer the following year.
He was promoted to assistant fire chief three years ago.
Williams has an extensive background in incident command, rescue and hazardous materials. In addition to his work with the Lawton Fire Department, he serves as a field instructor for the Oklahoma State University Fire Service Training Program.
He was honored as Fire Service Instructors of Oklahoma’s instructor of the year in 2012.
Williams dreamt of being a firefighter since he was a boy, said his father, Tommie.
“I was with the volunteer department, and when he was young, he followed us around and helped,” Tommie said. “His grandpa – my wife’s dad – was also a volunteer firefighter. So, you could say that he’s a third-generation firefighter.”