Orange Park fire chief retiring, but staying in profession

July 28--ORANGE PARK -- Chief Ty Silcox is retiring from the Orange Park Fire Department, but the 30-year fire service veteran won't be hanging up his bunker gear to gather dust.

Silcox has led the department composed of 20 firefighter/paramedics for 13 of his 25 years with the town. Retiring from Orange Park on Friday, July 31, he will become the new chief of the Fernandina Beach Fire Department on Aug. 17.

"I wanted to try retirement. For two weeks," joked Silcox, who is well-respected among his peers.

Silcox is credited by present and past Town of Orange Park officials with reversing the department's high turn-over rate, enhancing the professionalism of the department and improving public safety via firefighting equipment upgrades that have contributed to lower insurance rates for town residents and businesses in recent years.

He's also lauded for initiating community service projects including firefighters helping school children with reading, and doing follow-up visits to elderly residents and others they've helped during emergency calls.

"Ty has provided strong leadership over many years to build the fire department into a highly respected and well run department. Ty is the most professional and successful chief that I have had the privilege to work with, and he will be greatly missed," Town Manager Jim Hanson said.

He'll be difficult to replace, Hanson said.

Orange Park Deputy Fire Chief Alvin Barker will serve as interim chief of the department, which has an operating budget of about $2.3 million. Barker recently joined the Orange Park department after serving as a battalion chief and shift supervisor for Clay County Fire Rescue, where he'd been a firefighter since 1988.

The town will conduct a search for Silcox's permanent successor but the Town Council as yet hasn't decided whether to advertise the position locally, statewide or nationally. Nor has it set the search time line, Hanson said.

"The starting salary will probably be in the $60,000 to $80,000 range," said Hanson, adding a pay plan study has been completed for all town positions but not yet approved by the Town Council.

However, it's likely the council won't take up the search process until October after it adopts the 2015-16 town budget, Town Clerk Sarah Campbell said.

Retiring from the close-knit department, Silcox said, wasn't an easier decision but it's time for new challenges.

The Middleburg native said the department's accomplishment during his tenure as chief couldn't have happened without the dedication of the well-trained and tenured firefighters. Equally important, has been the support of the Town Council through the years, Silcox said.

"The residents of Orange Park are extremely blessed to have a department such as the one that serves them every day without hesitation," he said.

Silcox, 49, followed his father's footsteps into the fire service.

E.W. Silcox, now 78, served as chief of the Middleburg Volunteer Fire Department for about 20 years before retiring. Right after graduating high school when he was 18, Silcox, joined the volunteer department where he worked alongside his dad and other veterans. Years earlier, the television series, "Emergency!" about two Los Angeles firefighter/paramedics, sparked Silcox's interest in becoming a firefighter. But it was his dad and fellow firefighters who truly inspired him.

"My dad was a big influence. There were so many of those guys and gals that were involved in that department that were role models for me," he said. "Seeing them, and the love they had of the fire service, it really made me want to be a part of that and give back to the community."

Silcox became a civilian firefighter at Cecil Field Naval Air Station in 1985. Joining the Orange Park department in 1990 as a firefighter/emergency medical technician, Silcox worked his way up through the ranks -- holding even position in the department -- to become its chief in 2002.

"Being a firefighter has got to be the greatest job there is. Being able to help people," said Silcox, explaining firefighters go into situations where they see people at their best and at their worst times.

"When you see people at their best, you rejoice. You have those times when you are a part of bringing a new life into the world," he said. "And then you go to situations when the news is not so good and people die. You are able to lend some comfort to families, let them know that everything was done to help their loved one."

He added "it's just a sense of love and caring for your community and your fellow man." Silcox said he inherited that philosophy from his dad and mom, Loraine. Silcox said his wife of 23 years, LaDonna, and their daughter, Tanner, a senior at the University of Florida, continually inspire him. They've all always been involved in helping other people.

Among his proudest moments as Orange Park chief, he said, is transforming the department from a de facto training ground for other agencies.

"When I took over as fire chief, we had a revolving door of personnel. We were basically a training ground and we would hire people and they would stay maybe a year, some six months or two years and then they would move on to Jacksonville and places like that," said Silcox, adding he and department supervisors worked together change the culture in the department.

"We changed that culture to be: it's not a job, it's a family. All of the folks we serve in our community, they are our family and we wanted to treat them as family. So therefore, we reduced that revolving door tremendously," he said.

Equally important, he said, the department became more involved in the community. They started a reading program in the town's elementary schools, which rewarded kids for reading with a backpack bearing the fire department logo and school supplies. The highlight was children got to ride to school on the fire truck. Firefighters also began participating in reading programs for children at Orange Park Public Library.

The department also started a "We Care Program," where firefighters follow up with a get well card or a sympathy card, depending on the circumstances, for people they take to the hospital or their families. Firefighters expanded that program to include checking up on the elderly or others who don't have family locally.

Those programs are successful because the firefighters have invested themselves in "our culture of care," and not because of him, Silcox emphasized.

"He is one of those people who really cares about what he's doing ... and is always trying to make a difference," former Town Manager John Bowles said of Silcox, whom he hired as Orange Park fire chief with the approval of Town Council at that time. Bowles also was among those recently recommending Silcox for the Fernandina Beach position.

That trait made Silcox a hard sell when it came to any issues potentially affecting firefighters' ability to respond to emergencies, said Campbell, who's worked with Silcox almost on a daily basis for the past seven years.

"He is tough because he has a very high reputation to maintain and he's always concerned about the safety of town citizens first and foremost ... Closing down another street for the fall festival, for example, his immediate concern is 'how is my department going to be able to respond if you do x, y and z.' He puts the safety of the citizens and firefighters first," Campbell said.

Campbell and Bowles noted Silcox has never settled for the status quo. He's always focused on improving the fire service as well as the community, said Bowles, citing Silcox's research and related efforts helping Orange Park get a federal grant to buy an aerial ladder fire truck.

That saved Orange Park taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, while also allowing the town to raise its building height restriction to accommodate construction of new hotels, which in turn bolstered the local economy. Bowles said Silcox has lived up to the leadership potential Bowles saw in him when he hired him as chief.

"He's a good fire chief. If I was in a city management position, I'd hire him again ... without reservation," Bowles said.

Not one to just sit around and do nothing, Silcox said he's looking forward to serving in Fernandina Beach. It is a great community "that has a wonderful fire department and to serve as its fire chief is a great opportunity." But saying good-bye to Orange Park is hard.

"My heart will always remain with the town, its residents and the best firefighters around," Silcox said.

Teresa Stepzinski: (904) 359-4075

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