Bethel Twp. Fire Chief Jacob King Returns from Stint Overseas

After spending 16 months working with NATO forces as the Senior Fire and Disaster Response Advisor to the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior in Afghanistan, Bethel Township Fire Chief, Jacob King, is happy to be back to fighting fires much closer to home.

“I missed my family terribly...my wife, Heather, and our kids...sixteen months is a long time to be away from your loved ones. I also missed the things we take for granted in America...like just hopping in the car and going up the street to pick something up from the store. (Overseas) I saw kids selling things just so they could eat that day...There is a reason everyone wants to come to America; we have things really good here.”

Chief King says one of the things that surprised him the most was the geography of Afghanistan, “You expect that you will be going to a desert, but the area I was in was more like the Rocky Mountains. It was kind of a shock.”

What didn’t surprise Chief King was how hard he had to work. He was in charge of NATO fire fighters from 23 nations. Not only did he have language barriers to overcome he also had to learn how fire-fighting practices were done throughout the world.

“Everyone does fire-fighting differently and it’s interesting to see how practices differ throughout the world...But, without a doubt, the U.S. (firefighting) practices are the best there are in the world.”

Chief King’s work was so exemplary, he received the Civilian Service Commendation Medal, an honorary award presented by the United States Department of the Army to civilian employees for commendable service or achievement. The Civilian Service Award is comparable to the military Army Commendation Medal.

There are many reasons Chief King won the award. His citation mentions how he, “Conducted fire warden and fire brigade classes training to over 600 personnel to fight fires on multiple bases in Afghanistan...His fire prevention and training efforts affected the life, health, and safety of over 20,000 U.S. personnel, resulting in zero fire-related casualties.” The citation also mentions how Chief King formed and led a team of first-responders that responded to a plane crash and “recovered seven foreign-nationals from a crashed aircraft.”

State Representative, Kyle Koehler, helped draft House Resolution No. 18, which was adopted by 132nd Ohio General Assembly, honoring Chief King for winning the Civilian Service Commendation Medal and, in part, for “Fulfilling his myriad duties with the utmost efficiency and competence (and giving) willingly of his time, energy, and abilities far beyond what was required or expected.”

Chief King says he is proud of his work, he also thinks it is important for people to understand something he learned while overseas.

“Only a very, very small percentage of people in Afghanistan want to hurt us,” says Chief King, “Most people are trying to just live their lives and get by day-to-day. They are happy to see us because we have helped make things better in their country...Women are allowed to be educated now and hold public office. The life span of males has increased dramatically in the past 15 years. Good things are happening over there. Unfortunately, we hear mostly about the bad things instead. But things do continue to get better.”

Now that he is home, Chief King says he looks forward to spending time with Heather, his family, and to getting back to work with the firefighters of Bethel Township once again.