Emporia Fire Chief Jack Taylor may be retiring, but he says he still has energy to serve — regardless of what may lie ahead.
Taylor is wrapping up nearly 21 years as Emporia’s fire chief and nearly 46 years in the field at the end of the week. On KVOE’s Morning Show on Monday, Taylor said he got into firefighting in LIberal — in part because of a friend and, in part, because of the popular 1970s TV show “Emergency.” The show wasn’t much like the actual job, but Taylor was hooked. He rose up the ranks and served as Liberal’s fire chief for eight years before coming to Emporia in 2001.
Taylor replaced Jim Woydziak and almost immediately had to deal with one of Emporia’s most notable emergencies, the Eastgate Apartment explosion that killed a woman and young child. He says the deadly Jacobs Creek flood of 2003 and the Reading tornado of 2011 were among the disasters that stand out in his mind during his Emporia career.
Speaking of firefighting response, Taylor says things have dramatically improved during his career.
Taylor originally planned to retire a year ago but held off due to coronavirus, and he says now is the time to “look for other adventures in life.”
Current Assistant Chief Brandon Beck is leading the department on an interim basis. The city plans to start advertising for a permanent chief in March.
The full interview is in the KVOE.com Audio Vault.
