Eric Mitchell is the new chief of the Signal Mountain Fire Department.Fighting fire runs in the family for new Signal Mountain Fire Department Chief Eric Mitchell.
Both he and his brother worked for a volunteer fire department, and his brother was the first to enter fire service as a profession while Mitchell was still on the police force like their father. His brother is now chief of the fire department in Owensboro, Ky.
Mitchell's son still works at the department in Champagne, Ill., where his father served 23 and a half years and was deputy fire chief before taking the job on Signal Mountain. His son would one day like to be a fire chief as well, said Mitchell.
Mitchell said Champagne is roughly the same size as Chattanooga, so the Signal Mountain Fire Department is a bit of a downgrade from his previous position in terms of manpower.
"A smaller department has its advantages and disadvantages," he said. "Where I come from, we had a lot more people, so you could put more people on an incident. It was also a lot more people to manage."
Champagne has 33 firefighters per shift, compared to just five in the town of Signal Mountain.
"It's basically a family situation here, but when we have a larger incident the resources are stretched a little thinner," Mitchell said. "I love the size of Signal Mountain and the area, and look forward to being a part of the community here."
What he likes most about firefighting is helping people, he said.
"I enjoy knowing when people dial 911, when the fire department responds, regardless of what the emergency is, you're there to make their day a little better," said Mitchell.
Becoming a fire chief has been a longtime personal and professional goal of his.
"From the time I was in the fire service it was always my goal to have the education and background to be a chief and lead a department," said Mitchell. "I'm finally at a point in my career when I'm fortunate enough to fulfill that goal."