The local firefighter tapped Wednesday to head up the state's Fire Service entities said he is excited to get to work.
Gov. Henry McMaster announced Clarendon County Deputy Fire Chief Jonathan Jones as the state's new fire marshal on Wednesday afternoon during the state Firefighter Association's annual Legislative Day at the South Carolina State House.
“We are fortunate to have such a talented group of professionals in this state willing to commit to saving our lives and property and willing to risk their own in order to do that,” McMaster said. “Fortunately, we have a newfFire marshal in Jonathan Jones who has stood every test, who knows his business and has the trust of his colleagues.”
Jones, who has more than two decades of service with the Clarendon County Fire Department, and who has served previously as president of the state Firefighter's Association and Pee Dee Firefighter's Association, replaces outgoing Fire Marshal Robert Polk, who announced his retirement in early February.
"I think that this is a great honor for Jonathan," said Clarendon Fire Chief Frances Richbourg of her right-hand man. "I believe that he will do an excellent job."
Jones began with the county department as an energetic 17-year-old volunteer, working part-time for the Manning Fire Department while attending college. After college and working with the South Lynches Fire Department in Florence, he came back to Clarendon in 2002.
He said his newest role came about due to his prior work with the state Firefighter's Association and recent work with "sort of an advisory group or steering committee on issues to do with the fire service throughout the state."
"I was part of a group that began meeting to pass ideas around about different ways to improve the fire service at the state level," said Jones. "I've also been involved with state level fire service matters for probably 15 or 16 years now, including work with the Fire Marshal's Office and I was also on the Fire Academy Advisory Committee for about 10 years."
After being approached by the Governor's Office, Jones met with McMaster and his staff, along with the team at the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, the agency under which the Fire Marshal's Office is housed.
"I'm happy as a clam in Clarendon County; I love what I do and love the people I work with and for at the fire department," Jones said. "I spent a lot of time in prayer over this decision with my wife, Denise, just trying to figure it out. It was a very difficult decision."
Ultimately, Jones said he and his wife "believed the Lord was guiding me to take the position."
"I was also convinced of the Fire Marshal's Office's team and its cooperative spirit and shared vision of where they want to state fire service to go, particularly with the division of fire safety," Jones said.
Jones said he and his wife, a teacher at the Manning Early Childhood Center, will remain Clarendon residents. He said the hour-long drives back and forth to his new office will give him time "to get focused and think through things and make needed phone calls."
He said as the state's No. 1 firefighter, he will always be on call for emergency response. He said while most people think of the Fire Marshal's Office as a code-enforcement entity, there is much more to the office than simply making sure residents and businesses comply with regulations.
"People tend to think about codes and fire prevention, and that's a part of it," he said. "But in South Carolina, the fire marshal is the deputy director for LLR, which includes the Department of Fire and Life Safety. This encompasses not just the Fire Marshal's Office for code, permitting and prevention, but it's also the Fire Academy and the State Emergency Response Task Force and state firefighter mobilization."
Jones will be a good fit in leading the State Emergency Response Task Force's firefighter mobilization efforts in times of disaster. He did a similar job during both the 2015 floods and Hurricane Matthew's devastation in 2016.
Jones will also be in charge of a team from the Fire Marshal's Office which collects data on fire fatalities.
"We try to find out how the death occurred and use that toward education for preventative factors," said Jones. "I'm on-call all the time throughout the entire state, but I'm hopeful everything works out so I can still be a volunteer in Clarendon County."
Jones said that, as of Wednesday, he has no set starting date for his new position.
"I will be meeting with Chief Richbourg and County Administrator David Epperson to talk about the transition from this office and when I can start at the Fire Marshal's Office," said Jones. "The state would love for me to start right away, but I realize there's a need for a smooth transition and some planning before I can do that."
Jones said that both Richbourg and Epperson "have pledges that, certainly, even after I start with the state Fire Marshal's Office to help the fire department in transitioning from me to someone else."
He said he is unsure what his predecessor is up to in retirement, but that he would certainly welcome any advice.
"Certainly he would be a great resource," Jones said. "I'm also friends with the state fire marshal prior to him. The South Carolina Fire Service is a whole network of resources that I can reach out to. I think the key to success in anything, but certainly in the fire service, is creating a team that's focused on the mission of saving lives. That team consist of employees at the Division of Fire and Life Safety and also throughout the South Carolina Fire Service and also the leadership team at LLR. They're a vital component to the team."
Richbourg said that Jones heading up the state Fire Marshal's Office will be a great loss to Clarendon County, but that she's proud of the direction his career has taken.
"He's been a very big asset to us, of course," she said. "He's guided us and led us to a new high. We will certainly miss him. But he will still be around a little bit. He will be kept busy in his new role, but as much as he can help, I know that he will be here to help."
