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Jacob Cox with the Dewey Fire Department said he was honored to have been selected as the interim fire chief after Dewey Fire Chief Chad Schueler submitted his resignation to City Administration on Thursday, April 23rd.

The support from all the guys at Dewey Fire brings another level of confidence to Cox, who says he would like to serve as chief beyond June if possible. He said it is up to the other volunteer firefighters who leads the group past June.

Dewey Fire will go through extensive training in the next two months.

Cox said they have a lot of young guys serving at the fire department, and they want to make sure they get the training they need.

Experience makes a fire department better, and Cox said they want to be the best department they can be. He said they are planning to schedule vehicle extrication classes with the Copan Fire Department. Copan Fire Lieutenant John Wayne is scheduling the training.

Dewey Fire will even be hosting a Firefighter One training this summer. The courses will be taught by the Bartlesville Fire Department's Barry Campbell. About six to seven Dewey firefighters are enrolled in the class.

Cox said having the guys go through the Firefighter One training will be huge for Dewey Fire. He said this will allow the firefighters that take the training to enter a house fire.

Relying on mutual aid is big for any volunteer fire department, too. Cox said he expects Dewey Fire to continue good relationships with neighboring fire departments like Bartlesville Fire, Copan Fire and Washington County Fire.

Lastly, Cox said they have a great group of firemen ready for the call. He said all of Dewey Fire's firefighters are eager to learn and are ready to serve the community.

According to a release provided by Assistant Fire Chief Cody Meade last Sunday morning, the fire company called an emergency meeting to nominate a new interim Chief following Chief Schueler's resignation to serve the role until the annual June elections. Meade nominated Jacob Cox to assume the role of Interim Chief. Following a nomination vote, Dewey firefighters would vote unanimously for Cox. Dewey Fire is confident in his experience, attitude and credentials to lead the company.

Cox has a combined 15 years’ experience between the Fire Service and Bartlesville Ambulance as an EMT-B. Furthermore, Cox is currently a Paramedic student at Tri County Tech.

Dewey Fire has completed a number of accolades ranging from building their roster to 17 trained and experienced members, increased their ISO rating to a historic level 3, and has scheduled equipment and building upgrades.

With great confidence and commitment, Dewey Fire believes this transition will not deter any further growth or response capabilities in the community. Dewey Fire is on schedule with their projected path forward, projects and goals, to continue to better serve their citizens.

Chief Scheuler served the community as Chief from August 2018 following a longtime Chief Dale Little’s retirement from the Dewey Fire Department. Everyone at the department wish Chief Scheuler the best in his road ahead, and they appreciate his time served in the seat of an honorable position. Dewey Fire thanks its citizens for supporting them on the road to success.