By Jim Woods
The Columbus Dispatch (Ohio)
VIOLET TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Violet Township Fire Chief Kenn Taylor’s love of firefighting is leading him to take a step back.
Taylor, 46, is taking a voluntary demotion to battalion chief and a pay cut from $94,000 to $74,500. Assistant Fire Chief John Eisel, who has been with the department since 1989, will move up to chief Jan. 5.
Some have questioned the decision. Taylor said the switch will allow him to get back on the street as a shift commander and give him more time with his family.
“A lot of people are surprised, but that’s OK,” he said. “I love it. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”
Violet Township Administrator Bill Yaple, Township Trustee Terry Dunlap and Eisel said that Taylor has been talking about making the change for a while. Taylor requested the transfer when the trustees created three battalion-chief positions to supervise each 24-hour shift.
“He has been an excellent chief,” Dunlap said. “He likes his job, and he cares about the community.”
Dunlap has known Taylor since Taylor was a high-school student and member of the Explorers, a Scouting program. Dunlap said Taylor said then that he wanted to become Violet Township’s first full-time firefighter and eventually chief.
That wish came true sooner than Taylor expected. Trustees appointed Taylor as the first full-time firefighter and chief in January 1986 at the age of 23. He has been a firefighter since he was 18.
Some questioned then whether he was old enough to handle the job.
“They were probably right, you know,” Taylor said.
Violet Township, which covers 42 square miles in northern Fairfield County, was starting a transformation from a rural community including Pickerington into a Columbus suburb. The township and city, which is served by the department, now have 35,000 residents.
The department has grown to 40 full-time firefighters with three fire stations and a budget that tops $6 million.
Taylor has earned a reputation for innovation.
Recognizing that the department needed better coverage around the I-70/Rt. 256 interchange, he struck a deal with a shopping center there to lease space for a satellite fire station. The two-man station has an emergency-squad truck equipped with a foam extinguisher.
Taylor has won the respect of his peers, serving in the past as president of the Ohio Fire Chiefs’ Association and the Great Lakes Division of the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
As the department has grown, Taylor said he has spent more time on administrative duties and less on firefighting.
Dunlap said he expects a smooth transition because the department has camaraderie and works as a team.
Eisel said he appreciates that the department and community will benefit from still having Taylor around.
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