EMS and Fire Services Have New Director

Meet Chris Finch—Jasper County Fire Chief and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Director. He took the helm in October 2016 and is indeed a busy man. I know because it took me several calls, two voice mails, and a photo opportunity before we made contact.

Some readers may know him as a neighbor, co-worker, firefighter, or paramedic but he is so much more. The new chief/director made it to Jasper County by way of Walton County where he began working part-time as an emergency medical technician (EMT) before becoming full time there in 2003.

In 2009, he made his way to Jasper County working part-time while still working full-time in Walton. Today he still works in both counties but full-time here in his combined position and part-time there as (EMS) Director.

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Mr. Finch always knew he wanted to serve others. He joined a youth Fire Explorers group in 1994 while in high school and liked it very much. He went on to attend EMT school at Athens Technical College in 1998 and then onto paramedic training beginning in 2005 in North Carolina.

What began as a hobby became a full fledged career for the young explorer. Amid his many certifications are Firefighter II, Paramedic, EMT Instruction, Hazmat Tech, Crash Victim Education, Fire Officer II, Health Safety Officer, Fire Instructor, and CPR Instructor.

Those certifications have served him well and enabled him to serve others even better. In the 14 years he has served in Walton County, he has earned the Medal of Valor and Public Servant of the Year awards.

Since serving in his newly combined managerial position, Mr. Finch has developed three primary goals, thus far, for fire and EMS services in Jasper County. The first of which is to insure that staffing is stable.

“Getting paramedics on the trucks is important,” he noted.

Having paramedics and firefighters together in the same truck when responding to an emergency call allows the most efficient response, whether it be a fire or accident, and any victims of such incident are cared for without delay.

The second goal on his list is to have the emergency personnel cross trained. He said that there were 13 graduates of a crossing training session conducted in October 2016.

On the topic of training, Mr. Finch said that training sessions were now held three nights per month instead of two and that a medical response class will begin next month.

The third goal on his list is getting the insurance service office (ISO) rating for Jasper County to decrease. As there are a lot of factors for that to happen, he said increased training and better equipment could go a long way in aiding that process.

Mr. Finch noted that Jasper County with a budget of $1.1 million has the same ISO rating that Walton County had with a $4.5 million budget which means the county functions well with what resources it has but there is always room for improvement.

“The future (ISO rating) will be controlled by equipment and training,” he said.

Speaking of those resources, the fire chief noted the county’s emergency services unit currently has 21 vehicles in its fleet with the oldest being a 33 year fire engine. A new tanker engine has been requested through funding by the upcoming Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST).

As shown below, Walton County recently donated some extrication equipment, often referred to as the “jaws of life,” to Jasper County. The donated equipment came as three full sets including spreaders and cutters with a value of $40,000. The new director said that the donated goods were newer that most of the county’s current sets with the exception of one and that a donated hose would be coming soon.

Mr. Finch said there is another wish on his list and that is to get a full-time ambulance stationed in the Farrar area as it is the longest trek in the county.

When asked what he does in his spare time away from two jobs in two counties, if there is any spare time, he smiled and chuckled a little. The husband and father of seven spends as much time as work will allow at home with his family. His wife is a stay- at-home mother who oversees the hectic daily “going ons” of their brood ranging in age from the 20’s to 2.

The new director said that he would like local residents to comprehend one thing above anything else you may have heard or will ever learn about him.

“I just want to provide the best services with the resources we have currently.”