Jacksonville Fire Department

The department traces its roots to 1941, when two stations were built to protect the wartime Arkansas Ordnance Plant rather than the small town itself, which then had only about 100 residents. Those AOP stations were staffed by 85 firefighters working eight-hour shifts, with apparatus arriving painted Army green before being repainted for civilian service; wartime manpower shortages later forced a shift to 24-hour coverage. Redmond Motors bought the ordnance plant in 1948 and donated the station and equipment to the city, and H.S. McClung became Jacksonville's first municipal fire chief in 1949.

Under Chief Waymon Schmitt (1961-1980) the department evolved into a combined fire-and-rescue operation and began running advanced life support ambulances, a model it still uses today: all members are cross-trained to at least the EMT level and can staff either an engine or an ambulance. Fire suppression is now organized into three 24-hour shifts -- Black, Red, and Green -- each fielding five fire companies and three ALS ambulance units under its own Battalion Chief. Successive chiefs pushed down the community's ISO Public Protection Classification, reaching Class 3 under Rick Ezell (1986-1998) and Class 2 by 2011 under John Vanderhoof; Chief Alan Laughy, an Air Force crash-fire-rescue veteran, has led the department since 2013.

Beyond suppression and EMS transport, the department runs a Fire Prevention/Investigation division with five certified investigators who coordinate with the ATF Task Force and the Arkansas State Fire Marshal on complex fire scenes, alongside code enforcement and building-plan review. A Training division administers annual qualification and certification training and the departmental safety program, and a chaplain program supports both firefighters and fire victims -- following structure fires, the on-call chaplain reaches out to homeowners with a comfort packet and information on further assistance. The department has also recognized line-of-duty heroism since 1968, when firefighter Wilbur Smart received its inaugural Medal of Honor for rescuing three children from a structure fire without an equipped hoseline.

Jacksonville Fire Department hires entry-level firefighters and paramedics directly through the City of Jacksonville's HR department rather than a third-party job board. Both current openings emphasize a clean record and basic eligibility over prior fire service experience, with a paramedic license substituting for firefighter-track requirements on that posting.