Matt Summers joins a great legacy as he becomes chief of the JFD
Story and Photos by Kyla Hurt
Starting his career with the Jacksonville Fire Department in 2002 as a probationary firefighter, Matt Summers worked his way through the ranks and has now earned the title of chief of the JFD. Summers was officially sworn in by vote of Jacksonville City Council on the evening of Monday, Nov. 13, taking over the position previously held by Doug Sills.
Summers is from Winchester and just 20 days after graduating from Winchester High School, he left for the Navy. After his time with the Navy, he became involved in small business, then worked for the Illinois Department of Corrections for four and a half years.
Next was his start with JFD. As a probationary firefighter, Summers says, “Back then, you didn’t really have to have any certifications.” Regardless, he studied and advanced in the department over the years. In the summer of 2020, Summers made captain; he was captain of crew 1 and had the special assignment of training.
Summers discusses how his role and duties will personally change with the promotion to chief, saying, “Instead of having a single division and one crew … it’s the responsibility of the whole department now. … It’s also the responsibility of anything major that happens to our town … If it’s something that the [Jacksonville Police Department] doesn’t handle, we pretty much take care of the rest.”
Chief Summers is now over all three crews that make up the JFD — 29 people (line firefighters, officers, chief and administrative assistant). A larger department would generally have an assistant chief or battalion chief to run their shift, however, “We basically put that responsibility on our captains,” states Summers.
JFD Chief Matt Summers stands by one of the trucks at the station in downtown Jacksonville.
As far as the chain of command and tasks undertaken, Summers says, “Everybody is trained to work up at least one rank,” meaning they could do the job above them or the job below them as well.”
To maintain tight crews, there is a lot of training, says Summers.
Summers continues, “We’re bound by state statutes and city laws as well. We’re also overseen by organizations like the state … Illinois Department of Labor, IDPH … and locally … so there are lots of rules and regulations that we have to stay up on. … We deal with a lot of things that are very hazardous and dangerous, so the training requirements are pretty stringent.”
It makes sense with this and his background in training, that Summers states, “I would say that I hope to, in the next couple of years, improve on a few of the training standards for promotions, meaning that … trying to make some wise decisions, or implement some wise steps, to help better equip, prepare and train our acting fire officers to be ready for the next disaster, the next major emergency. You know, a lot of those high hazard/low frequency events are the ones that are most dangerous statistically.
“The things we do every day, kind of the ‘bread and butter’ calls, if you will … we’re used to those, we’re pretty good at those. … With the right equipment and the right training, the guys know what they’re doing. It’s pretty cut and dry. However, when it’s a much bigger structure like a large apartment complex or a hazmat spill that we don’t see every day, a train derailment, a tornado comes through — something major, right — I hope we can and I believe we will improve upon our training. We have to keep pushing the status quo a bit. … There’s always new standards being implemented and there’s also new problems being figured out.
“There are new and upcoming things because of the changes in the world.”
As far as Summers’ work ethic, “I believe my supervisors, especially the ones I’ve worked with in the last decade while I was getting closer to the officer ranks, I believe they would all think that I’ve had a very strong work ethic and I’ve tried to give my all to everything I’ve been doing.”
Summers notes, too, that he gives a lot of credit to a lot of the officers and firemen over the years who have helped to mentor him or set examples themselves, adding, “I’m really thankful.”
When it comes down to working in this industry, Summers says, “In my opinion, it doesn’t really matter where you started. I think that once you’ve spent enough years involved with this group of people, it grows on you. If you didn’t have the fire to begin with, I feel like you can’t help but be surrounded by a lot of people who love this job. … There’s a lot of trauma and work that goes into it — and sometimes trauma that you see and go through — but at the same time, it’s one of the most fulfilling careers you’re going to find.”
The Jacksonville Fire Department is a second family to Summers. “You rely on each other for your life … there’s accountability and drive to do better … to make each of us better.”
Summers finishes, “I’d just like to say that I’m very thankful for this opportunity, this chance, to serve the city and to serve this great group of firefighters here at the Jacksonville Fire Department. I’m looking forward to the work that we have ahead of us and I’m excited about the future. … I’m also looking forward to working close with the surrounding fire departments and other agencies … in the surrounding communities and towns because I think it needs to happen — and it has happened — and it needs to continue … to foster those relationships so we all get better and improve quality of care for our communities.”
JFD Chief Matt Summers lives in Jacksonville. He was married to the late Julie Summers. They have two children, Gabe (Josephine Segura) and Bella, plus one granddaughter, Sofia.
