Liberty Township new Fire Chief James Reardon knew as a teen firefighting was his future
The Liberty Township Fire Department’s new chief got his start in the department in 1991, when he was a high school sophomore.
James Reardon was sworn in as the township’s fire chief Oct. 24 in a ceremony at the township hall, witnessed by a packed house of friends, neighbors and members of the fire department.
Reardon succeeds Thomas O’Brien, who retired after five years as fire chief.
Reardon previously was one of two battalion chiefs in the department, a position in which he had served since it was created in 2013.
“I’m beside myself with excitement and pride,” Reardon, a 1993 Olentangy High School graduate, said of being named chief in the community where he grew up.
Reardon is the eighth fire chief to serve in the department since it was formed in 1947.
Reardon was a student athletics trainer during his freshman year at Olentangy High School. He recalled coming home from school one day and telling his mother he wanted to become a paramedic.
“She said, ‘You need to call the (Liberty Township) fire department,” Reardon recalled. “So I did, and it just so happened that day was the day they were starting the Explorer program (for youth interested in learning more about and perhaps pursuing careers in firefighting). I went to that meeting, and I was hooked.”
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Reardon remained in the Explorer program until he graduated from high school, earning his firefighter II certification from the Ohio Fire Academy in 1994 while on summer break from Eastern Kentucky University, where he graduated in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in fire-safety engineering technology with a concentration in fire administration.
He later completed paramedic training at Tri-Rivers Career Center and joined the LTFD full time in 1998.
After a one-year stint in northern Virginia, Reardon returned to LTFD in 2001 and was promoted to inspector in 2003, overseeing the construction of Station 322 on Sawmill Parkway. Reardon was promoted to captain in 2005 and assistant chief in 2009.
“We are thrilled to be promoting our current Battalion Chief Reardon to assume this role,” Liberty Township trustee Bryan Newell said. “He has already proven that he has the skills, passion and leadership to pick up where the former chief left off. We thank him for his continuous service to Liberty Township.”
Reardon acknowledged the area has changed dramatically since 1991 and said he hopes his personal and professional history will help him in his new role.
“In 1991, there were like nine hydrants in the area, and now there are like 9,000,” he said. “I’m proud to have that background and knowledge of the growth that’s taken place in the area.”
Reardon credited the department’s past chiefs, in particular O’Brien, for their hard work, saying he envisions needing to make only a few changes in how the department operates.
“I do think there are things we can do to increase the department’s involvement and visibility in the community,” Reardon told ThisWeek. “People most often see us in times when we’re doing our job and they’re in an emergency. I’d like for us to find ways for people to meet our firefighters outside of those times, to help them come to know us better and to help our department know our community even better.”
In an Oct. 17 ceremony honoring O’Brien at his retirement, Newell credited his work in officer development, upgrading the department’s fleet and equipment and earning several professional accreditations.
“This township owes a debt of gratitude to you,” trustee Scott Donaldson told O’Brien.
Addressing the members of the LTFD who had gathered, O’Brien told them they were “a family.”
“I didn’t do this; everybody here did this,” O’Brien said, referring to the list of accomplishments cited by Newell. “I hope you understand how special you all are to me and how proud I am of all of you.”
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: James Reardon sworn in as Liberty Township fire chief
