St. Johns County Fire Rescue has a new chief as it celebrates its 25th anniversary serving the community.
The fire department also has a new logo to run under, designed by one of its own.
County commissioners last week approved Scott Bullard as St. Johns County Fire Rescue chief, after nomination in May by County Administrator Hunter Conrad.
Bullard is a 21-year Fire Rescue veteran who has served as firefighter, engineer, lieutenant, captain and battalion chief. He was the 2013 Fire Rescue Paramedic of the Year and developed several department initiatives, such as the Firefighter Development Program. He replaced Chief Jeffrey Prevatt, who retired last year.
St. Johns County Fire Rescue handles a 608-square-mile area with about 293,000 residents. Its 17 fire stations and staff handled 61,373 calls for service in fiscal year 2022, an 8.7% increase over the previous year, fire officials said.
Before 1974, county fire protection was provided through an interlocal agreement with St. Augustine, which handled issues within 10 miles of the city limits. Ten independent volunteer departments worked fires and medical issues in the rest of the county. In 1974, a taxing ordinance was adopted to fund equipment and operating costs for the county's volunteer fire departments. The arrangement remained in place until 1995.
In late 1997, 48 EMS paramedics cross-trained as firefighters and joined seven career firefighters to create the first county fire service.
In 2022, St. Johns County Fire Rescue responded to over 56,026 calls for service. As of this date, St. Johns County Fire Rescue currently employs over 400 professional firefighters and administrative personnel who staff 17 fire stations across St. Johns County.
Lt. Luke Nehemias, who works out of Station 14 in St. Augustine, suggested a new logo to the incoming chief late last year. He then created the new logo, drawing on his past as a graphic designer and drafting several design concepts, which department officials reviewed before approval.
“This will be the first phase of our rebranding as we look toward reshaping the mission, vision and values of St. Johns County Fire Rescue in order to maintain pace with the needs of our community,” Bullard said in a news release.
Nehemias narrates the video, pointing out that the fire department has had at least five different designs in the past 25 years. But since "historic and attractive" logos are part of successful sports and business organizations, it was time for the fire department to have a new one that shows it as stable.
"Over the past 25 years, our department has grown and improved immensely," Nehemias says on the video. "The monogram now identifies us as a time-tested and venerable organization."
The redesigned logo also has the words "pride" and "service" framing the logo in the center of the black, red and gold fire department and EMS design.
"The launch of this updated image represents an important time in our history," Nehemias says in the video. "It will now carry the torch from where we began and represent to the public what we are and will continue to be."
The fire department's 2022 Annual Report is now available online.
