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Robert Jennings, left, has been named Fire Chief at Oracle Fire Department. He has big shoes to fill as Larry Southard, right, retires.
Oracle Fire Chief Larry Southard has retired. He will be returning to Vancouver, Washington where he came from when he moved to Oracle in 1986. Larry was the owner and operator of a heating and cooling business which he continued to run in Oracle. In 1999, Larry joined the Oracle Volunteer Fire District as a volunteer firefighter. Larry sold his business in 2002 and after a short lived six-month retirement, he became the first full-time firefighter/EMT for the Oracle Fire District (OFD).
During the same time, he worked for Southwest Ambulance in a temporary assignment. Larry used this position to gain experience to run EMS calls in Oracle. He was quickly promoted to Lieutenant where he was placed in charge of all Oracle Fire District’s daily operations and managed OFD’s dispatchers. The Pinal County Board of Supervisors soon appointed him Fire District Secretary/Treasurer. During this time, Larry implemented OFD’s multi-antenna radio repeater system, installed the emergency power system, and negotiated a Right to Use agreement with the Arizona State Land Department to manage the Oracle Brush Disposal site.
During the years 2004 – 2005, Larry continued to manage the daily operations, including all full-time and part-time employees. He implemented and managed a number of construction and re-modeling projects at Oracle Fire Station One. He successfully wrote and administered many FEMA grants for fire fighter equipment and fire prevention. It was during this time that Larry coordinated and implemented OFD’s first annexation, bringing the north side of Highway 77 into the Oracle Fire District.
In 2006, Larry was promoted to Captain and continued to oversee and manage the Oracle Fire Department while writing and obtaining grants. He created the OFD Major Disaster Continuity of Operations Infrastructure and developed a partnership with the Arizona Department of Forestry to use the Arizona Department of Corrections Wildland Fire Crew for community wildfire fuel reduction programs, funded through multiple community wildfire prevention grants, which he wrote.
Larry was later promoted to Battalion Chief, where he continued the management and administration of the OFD operations and personnel, continued serving as the District Secretary/Treasurer, and wrote and was awarded numerous fire prevention and FEMA grants. During this time (2007 – 2012), Larry obtained many Leadership and Administration certifications and training from prestigious institutions such as the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland. This helped him to develop and administer important programs like the OFD Community Fire Prevention program, the Oracle Fire Strategic Planning Document, and the Oracle Community Wildfire Protection Plan, without which the OFD could not continue to obtain fire prevention grants.
Another very important designation for the Oracle community was that of becoming a Firewise Community. This status opens up access to a multitude of other grants, and even offers home owners insurance discounts by some carriers. Larry decided that this community status needed to be overseen by a Community Firewise Board, made up of residents of the fire district interested in promoting the ethics and principles of Firewise.
Due to amended Arizona statutes, OFD obtained a five-member board in a 2012 election held within the fire district. The OFD Board named Larry interim Fire Chief while advertising and holding state wide interviews for the position. In 2013, they hired Larry Southard as the seventh Chief of the Oracle Fire District. As Fire Chief. Larry has continued to move the Oracle Fire District forward. He continued to manage and administer the OFD daily operations and staff, as well as lead the volunteer Firewise and CERT groups, obtain and manage grants, and strive to render the community of Oracle a safer place to live. He also has made sure that the OFD continues to work with their partners in the neighboring fire districts, National Forest Service and Arizona State Forestry.
As if this wasn’t enough, Larry implemented the first training of an Oracle CERT program (Community Emergency Response Team). Along with certifications to teach Basic First Aid, EMS First Responder, CPR and AED, and co-teach EMT and Firefighter I & II classes, he also became certified to teach future CERT classes. He held two additional classes for Oracle residents interested in supporting the OFD and helping the community as well as the Tri-Community. Oracle CERTs under the leadership of Larry Southard are renowned in Emergency Response circles as the best in Arizona!
Chief Larry Southard is well respected among the Arizona Fire and Emergency Services community, as is the Oracle Fire Department. He is beloved by the community and his staff. Although he will be missed by all, he has left the Oracle Fire District in great shape to continue to move forward and protect the community of Oracle.
On Saturday, Jan. 14, at 2 p.m. at the Oracle Fire Station, a farewell celebration, retirement party will be held to honor and say good bye to Larry. The public is invited. Come by and wish Larry good luck and thank him for his service to the community. We wish Larry Southard and his family the very best for this new chapter of their lives.
Larry Southard watches as Oracle Firefighters extinguish a shed fire.
There are news or informational items frequently written by staff or submitted to the Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner, Superior Sun, Pinal Nugget or Oracle Towne Crier for inclusion in our print or digital products. These items are not credited with an author.
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