This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Person of Week: Meet Forks Fire Chief Charles Chapman

Chapman 'jumped the river' from New Jersey and joined the department.

Name: Charles Chapman

Your Job: Forks Township Fire Chief

Age: 52

Find out what's happening in Palmer-Forkswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Lives: Forks Township

Family: Wife Karen, daughter Kelsey, 20, and son Connor, 15. Connor is also a junior member of the fire department.

Find out what's happening in Palmer-Forkswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

How long in the job? Since January 2010

When did you start as a firefighter? In 1988 in Anchorage, Alaska, where I was stationed while serving in the U.S. Army. I also served as a volunteer firefighter in South Carolina and Eatontown, NJ. I retired from the military in 2002 and “jumped the river” from New Jersey, moved to Forks and joined the fire department.

About your job: I am chief of the Forks Township Fire Department, a department that has 40 members and responds to 450-500 calls a year. Some of our members are paramedics or EMTs, so if needed, we can provide first response until Suburban EMS ambulance arrives. As a department head for the township, I am responsible for financial oversight of the department as well as training and administration. We are a municipal fire department and supported by the Forks Township Board of Supervisors. I am a team-oriented leader and delegate responsibilities to my officers and firefighters.

Interested in joining the fire department? Meetings are held Mondays at 6:30pm at the fire station, 1606 Sullivan Trail.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Palmer-Forks