McKenzie’s Gaskins to be Named County Fire Chief

HUNTINGDON (January 7) — McKenzie’s Jonathan Gaskins has been named Chief of the Carroll County Rural Fire Department. Following Tuesday's interviews conducted by the Carroll County Rural Fire Committee, Gaskins was selected to lead the county’s fire service.

Thirteen individuals applied for the position before interview selections were narrowed to six and then five following an individual removing his name for consideration. The five who interviewed other than Mr. Gaskins were John Fordon of Carroll County, Aidan Dixon of Carroll County, Eric Dale Allen of New Johnsonville and Scott Cooper of Maryville.

After much discussion following interviews, Gaskins and Dixon were the top two candidates. Experience and future vision were large factors in the committee’s decision. Members of the committee discussed the strengths and weaknesses of both candidates from the interview. Through a roll-call vote, Gaskins came out ahead 3-2. Jimmy Halford, Lana Suite and Philip Moore voted in favor of Gaskins. Dan Wilman and Jimmy McClure voted in favor of Dixon.

The hiring of Gaskins as chief is not official. While he has been recommended or will be nominated as the chief by Mayor Joseph Butler, the full County Commission must ratify the nomination. That vote takes place Monday, January 20, 2025, at 7 p.m. at the Carroll County Complex.

During the interview process, each candidate was asked the same series of questions by members of the Fire Committee which included Lana Suite, Chairperson, Jimmy McClure, Philip Moore, Dan Wilman and Jimmy Halford. Questions ranged from leadership styles, change implementation and plans for restructuring. Throughout the interviews, Committee members were allowed to ask follow-up questions.

It was noted during the December 30, 2024 meeting of the Fire Committee that Amanda Sneed, who was serving as the fire chief and was to move to administrative assistant, had resigned with a tendered last day of December 31, 2024.

While Gaskins is not scheduled to start in the official capacity as fire chief, he is visiting and working with county officials to hit the ground running.

Gaskins comes to the Carroll County Fire Department with 23 years of fire service experience along with 20 years in the emergency medical field. Before taking the position with the county, he was with Vanderbilt Adult Emergency Department in Nashville as a Paramedic Shift Leader. He worked as a paramedic for Carroll County EMS for four years. Since 2002, he has served as a team member of the City of McKenzie Fire Department where he held the position of EMS operations chief. Gaskins has fire chief experience from where he served as head of the Milan Arsenal Fire Department before its closure in 2019.

One of the biggest perks of hiring Gaskins was his qualifications and experience as a training officer. His resume shows the following professional certifications: Firefighter 1 & 2 IFSAC / State of TN; Fire Instructor 1 & 2 IFSAC / State of TN; Fire Officer 1 & 2 IFSAC / State of TN; Fire Inspector 1 & 2 IFSAC / State of TN; Fire Inspector 1 & 2 ICC; Incident Safety Officer IFSAC / State of TN; Hazmat Awareness IFSAC / State of TN; Hazmat Operations IFSAC / State of TN; Hazmat Technician IFSAC / State of TN; Hazmat Incident Commander IFSAC / State of TN; Driver / Pumper Operator IFSAC / State of TN; State of TN 64 Hour Firefighter Instructor; NIMS 100, 200, 300, 700 and 800; Paramedic License State of TN; PALS, AMLS, PHTLS, ACLS, BLS; CPR Instructor with American Heart Association; State of TN Ventilator Paramedic; and State of TN First Responder Instructor.

In an August 19, 2024 meeting of the Carroll County Rural Fire Committee, Marc Alley, Emergency/Fire Management Consultant with County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS) informed members of the Carroll County Commission, Rural Fire Committee members and local firefighters that the current system the county is operating under does not constitute as a rural county-wide fire department. The department was created in the 1980s under Wesley Beals’ administration. To become a county-wide fire department, Carroll County had to first pass a resolution creating a department.

Now with the resolution and an official fire chief, the Carroll County Rural Fire Department can begin moving forward and laying out a plan. This would include training, personnel, equipment, budgets and numerous items that need to be addressed in the coming weeks and months.