Ty Silcox | Fernandina Beach, FL
“Enjoy your career. There is no greater job that you could choose.”
Fire Chief Ty Silcox
Why did you join the fire service?
Chief Ty Silcox is an old-school firefighter who is a role model for a fresh generation. His interest in fire fighting began at a young age. His first inspiration to become a firefighter came from the popular TV show, Emergency.
Later, he developed a personal connection to the fire service when a dramatic fire in his older brother’s house motivated his dad to join their local volunteer fire department. His dad became the fire chief and young Ty Silcox became personally inspired to join the fire department as well.
The Silcox father-son duo worked together at Cecil Field in Jacksonville. It was there, at the age of 18, that Chief Silcox met other firefighters who encouraged him to train as a civil service firefighter. He did, and before he knew it, he was well on his way to an illustrious career in the fire service. Today, Chief Silcox is the Fire Chief for Fernandina Beach Fire Department — a two-station fire department in northeast Florida — as well as the immediate past president of the Florida Fire Chief’s Association.
Chief Silcox (right) with Florida State Fire Marshal and CFO Jimmy Patronis.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
Chief Silcox is a family man. He is a father and a proud new grandfather to a one-year-old grandson. “Family is the most important thing to me,” Chief Silcox shared.
He loves to spend time with his wife, bicycling or sitting together on their porch. Chief Silcox is also an outdoorsman. He used to be an avid fisherman, but now he enjoys camping and hunting more.
What advice do you have for others in the fire service?
1. Be sure that the fire service is what you want to do because it is not just a job, it is a lifestyle.
2. Be a firefighter because you want to serve the public, help other people, and make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.
3. Make smart decisions early on in your career by choosing your firehouse wisely and by keeping your long-term goals in mind.
4. Enjoy your career because there is no greater job that you could choose.
What changes do you foresee in the fire service?
Chief Silcox is optimistic about what lies ahead for the fire service. He is a flexible, forward-thinking professional who can vividly imagine a future of technological advances within the firefighting field: the use of drones, unmanned cars, thermal imaging, and computerized firefighting equipment. Chief Silcox stated, “technology is changing, and firefighters are changing as well.”
Chief Silcox doing live fire training with rookies at Orange Park Fire Department.
Lieutenant Ty Silcox entering a fire with his crew.
Chief Silcox has seen many changes in the fire service since he began his career. “The fire service is emerging as a much different fire service than when I first began…You’re no longer just a firefighter,” he pointed out. “Now, you are an EMT-firefighter-paramedic.”
Fortunately, along with the increased roles and expectations, there is an increasing awareness and focus on the overall well-being of firefighters. “We know that we need to be there for each other and lean on our colleagues during troubling times.”
Chief Silcox has seen a lot of things in his lifetime, and he knows what is important. To close out this article, he shared the story of one of the greatest highlights of his career. When he was with Orange Park Fire Department, there was a terrible incident that happened in his community. Somer Thompson, a seven-year-old girl, was kidnapped and murdered while walking home from school. This heinous crime occurred in a house which, after the murder, sat empty and boarded up for years — a terrible and hurtful reminder of the tragedy. After many years, Somer’s family started a foundation and raised enough money to purchase the house. This is when Chief Silcox became an important part of this story:
“The family came to me to talk about doing something with the house. So, we decided to put together a training burn for our personnel where we had multiple departments come to participate. In the process, we were able to help the community heal, as well. This was one of those things that just felt right.”
Somer’s family was there and Chief Silcox took her mother, Diena Thompson, around to the back of the house. When it was time to finish the training, he let her start the final fire that burned the house to the ground.
Firefighter looks on during the training burn.
“This was something. This was the whole community. There were tons of people watching, the roads were blocked, there were news crews from every news station. And when the house really started burning, all the people were cheering.”
Thompson decided to clear the lot and she then helped to create a park on that property — a further stage in the healing process.
“This will always be memorable to me,” Chief Silcox recalled fondly.
Chief Silcox (center) with Diena Thompson (left), mother of Somer Thompson during the training burn.
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