Firefighters from five different departments across the Southeast have successfully completed and graduated from the Chatham County Fire Department Company Officer Academy. This is the second year of the academy under the direction and coordination of CCFD Training Chief Joshua Anderson. The weeklong event included classroom instruction, truck operation exercises, live fire training and culminated with a 24-hour incident response entailing multiple revolutions of responding squads.

The driving theme behind the Company officer Academy is, “We do this for them.”

“Sitting in that officer seat in an engine or truck company, to be able to perform the duties for the citizens out there. It also teaches an important impact on serving your firefighters, taking care of those below you so that they can take care of the citizens which is an important part of the fire service,” said Anderson.

PT was a mainstay of the academy and how every day began. On Wednesday, April 2, 2025, the academy class dedicated their morning PT to fallen South Carolina firefighter James "J" Muller. Muller. They performed three rounds of 20 pushups, 15-4 count mountain climbers, 10 up/downs, 7 airpack thrusters, 3-4 count SCBA bent over rows and 2-50 ft. bear crawls. A sobering reminder of what firefighters face everyday on any given call.

Chief Anderson stated that the foundation of the academy’s success lies in the exceptional instructors he has selected to lead it from start to finish. Special thanks to CCFD Captains Andrew Ulmer, Matthew Cary and Jordan Johnson. Pooler Fire Rescue Training Chief Ian Schulte and Swainsboro Fire Chief Ali Mims. For the second straight year, Hornet Fire Training from Charlotte North Carolina spent the day with firefighters running through truck operations on the fireground. Former Captain Aaron Lovett and Captain Phillip Bryant of Charlotte Fire made invaluable contributions to the academy and attendees.

There were three guest speakers that shared valuable insight during the five-day academy. Henry County Fire Rescue Chief Pat Wilson, Hardeeville Fire Training Chief Woody Childs, and West Columbia Fire Department Fire Chief Marquis Solomon sat in on a roundtable discussion of their experience in the fire service and fielded questions.

The core four of the academy are Chief Joshua Anderson, Chief Ali Mims, Training Chief Ian Schulte and Captain Andrew Ulmer, combined have more than 73 years in the fire service.

There were 11 graduates of this year’s academy, they include:

John-William Farrell, Alec Wogoman, John Page and Adam Copeland from Chatham County Fire.

Jackie Howell and Jonathan Preciado from Pooler Fore Rescue.

Allen Crystal, Graham Martin, and Brian Sleeth from Hinesville Fire Department.

Michael Gordon from Garden City Fire Rescue and Charles Helton from Liberty Fire Services.