Wakulla County Swears in New Fire Chief

The Wakulla County United Firefighters Association, in conjunction with the Wakulla County Board of County Commissioners, has installed its’ first ever paid Fire Chief.  Due to continued rapid growth and the decline in volunteerism, it has become necessary to supplement the volunteers during the weekdays.  The first step is the hiring of the Fire Chief to oversee the paid personnel, whom should be hired in the next month. Chief Jason Honeybone was sworn in at 4:30 p.m. in the Wakulla County Commission Chambers on March 8th, 2007.

Chief Honeybone has been in the fire service for 17 years, with the last six years spent working for the South Walton Fire District. He has also served as the volunteer Fire Chief for the Panacea Volunteer Fire Department for the last four years.  He was born in Chandler, Arizona in 1976.  He lived in Arizona until his family moved to Buffalo, Missouri in 1983.  (Pictured at left:  Chief Jason Honeybone, left, is sworn in by County Commission Chairman Brian Langston.)

Like most children, he loved fire engines and everything that surrounded them.  As a small child he would always find himself at the parade line-up admiring the fire trucks.  When he was 12, a new fire district was created and his father was one of the first citizens to become involved. This was a dream come true for a 12 year old.  "We had a large telephone ringer mounted on the outside of the house which could be heard over our entire farm," recalls Honeybone.  He remembers running to the phone to take fire calls from the Sheriff's Department.  He would jump in the truck and go help his dad at fires and vehicle accidents.  By the time he was 16 it was not unusual for him to be driving the first fire truck on the scene with no one else responding. 

Honeybone's family lived in a very rural area and volunteers were hard to come by.  His fire chief worked out a deal with his high school principal allowing him to respond to fires during school hours.  A 16 year old driving a fire truck and operating it by himself at a working structure fire and operating the Jaws of Life alone at a wreck seems unreal, but it happened. 

His family moved to Bay County after he graduated high school.  He joined the Bay County Fire Department and was soon a Lieutenant with District 10.  He decided to make firefighting a career and began attending fire school at Chipola Jr College.  He received his Fire Standards and was hired by the Quincy Fire Department, where he worked for four years.  He also worked for Holmes County EMS/Rescue as an EMT on his off days.  He decided to further his career by taking a job with the South Walton Fire District, where he spent the past six and a half years.  During this time he gained valuable experience and training and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant.  He met his wife, who was from Panacea, in 2002.  He began volunteering there and became their Chief in 2003. 

Click here for a Wakulla.com Photo Gallery of the ceremony!

This article originally published on March 8, 2007.

Written by :

mkwestmark

 

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