ROGERS — Jake Rhoades was hired three years ago as deputy fire chief to build the training program for the Rogers Fire Department.
Rhoades, on Oct. 29, will take the reins as chief of the Edmond, Okla., Fire Department.
“The average citizen on the street may not recognize Jake Rhoades if they saw him in Walmart, but their families are better protected because Jake Rhoades was here,” said Tom Jenkins, fire chief.
Rhoades, 42, is deputy chief of special operations and training in Rogers and has elevated local training programs to the national level, Jenkins said.
The move will be a return to the Oklahoma area for Rhoades. He graduated from Oklahoma Christian University in Edmond, spent six years in the Stillwater Fire Department and worked in the Jenks Fire Department, both in Oklahoma, before his 2009 move to Arkansas.
His first task in Rogers was to overhaul the 18-month fire academy program. All recruits go through the program now, from a 19-year veteran to those with no experience, Rhoades said. They spend a week with emergency medical services as up to 85 percent of the departments’ calls are medical. Recruits also get two weeks of training to certify in driving the trucks.
Profile
Jake Rhoades
Jake Rhoades serves on the board of the International Association of Fire Chiefs Safety, Health and Survival Section. He is a principal member for the National Fire Protection Association technical committee on risk management.
Rhoades graduated with a bachelor of science from Oklahoma Christian University in Edmond, Okla., and holds a master of science in executive fire service leadership from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. He’s a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program. He also has designations from the Center of Public Safety Excellence as a chief fire officer, a chief medical officer and a chief training officer. He is the second person in the nation to attain all three designations, according to a news release from the Rogers Fire Department.
Source: Staff Report
Some departments take a new recruit with basic training and allow their supervisor to complete their training on the job.
“They still have a lot to learn,” Rhoades said.
Training has made the department better and, through that, made Rogers safer, Jenkins said.
Training does not end with the academy. When department personnel are not responding to an emergency, they are preparing for the next one, Jenkins said.
“We train pretty much every day,” Rhoades said.
Before he leaves, Rhoades will update the department’s annual training plan so his three training captains only have to run the program. Building in-house leadership was part of his task, Jenkins said, and while outside candidates have expressed an interest in the job, the search for Rhoades replacement could include some of his trainees.
Jenkins credits Rhoades with unification of the once splintered special operations unit, which includes hazardous materials response and technical rescue.
Eight people were trained in hazardous material response when he arrived, Rhoades said. Now 97 firefighters hold the certification. Not all are on the special operations team, but those situations are both infrequent and high risk, Rhoades said.
“We rely on everybody on the job to play a role,” Rhoades said.
Rhoades’ team-building ability is something Larry Stevens, Edmond city manager, likes.
“I think he has a gift for that,” Stevens said.
While the 120-member Edmond Fire Department is in good shape now, the area is poised for growth, Stevens said.
Rhoades will be a good long-term fit and already knows some members of the department, Stevens said.