Hennessey Fire Department has its replacement for the longtime chief.

“I’m excited to serve our town, and our fire district, in this new leadership role,” new Fire Chief Brandon Scott told the KT&FP.

Scott replaces Bert Gritz, who started as a Hennessey volunteer firefighter when he was 21 and resigned June 30 after 45 years.

Scott has been a member of the HFD for 14 years and served as captain for the past four years.

“Brandon has been a huge asset to the fire department,” Gritz said. “He has become involved in EMS and is a Nationally Certified Advanced EMT. He is also a very well-trained firefighter and possesses proven leadership skills as a captain.

“I truly believe Brandon has the skills and dedication to lead Hennessey Fire Department well into the future.” cott’s appointment as chief was announced during the Thursday night, July13, Board of Trustees meeting by Acting Town Administrator David Treanor.

All Hennessey firefighters were eligible to apply for the chief’s job.

Gritz has commended Scott and Assistant Fire Chief James Matousek for their work on the design of the fire station expansion now under construction.

It will house a ladder truck to be purchased later.

The project is funded by the department’s county sales tax funds and required approval by county commissioners.

Scott and Matousek have put a lot of hours in on the expansion including attending county meetings to keep commissioners updated on plans, Gritz noted.

Scott has a long list of fire training, including hazmat awareness, vehicle extrication sessions and several incident commander courses through the National Incident Management System.

“Responding to fatality accidents are tough and when someone loses their home due to a fire that’s hard, too,” he said.

One of the most difficult fires was at the Dover School, he said “The roof was coming down on our helmets and coats,” he recalled.

Hennessey’s volunteer firefighters assist the town’s ambulance service provider, Life EMS of Enid that’s housed in Hennessey.

Medical Training

Scott became a certified basic EMT in 2021 and an advanced EMT this year.

“I’ve always wanted to help others and be involved in the medical calls,” the new chief said. “I wanted to know what the paramedics were going to need before they got there, or to be able to start patient care.

“Hennessey is my hometown and I care about the people and our community.”

He went to kindergarten through sixth grade in Hennessey then graduated from Drummond in 1994.

After taking pre-med classes at the University of Central Oklahoma for almost two semesters, he dropped out and started to work at Luckinbill in Enid as a plumbing apprentice.

Then he worked in concrete, did standard testing for two years, became a sheet metal apprentice and got his state licensing.

Family Important

“I couldn’t do any of this without the support of my family,” Scott said. “Between the (fire/ambulance) calls, training new guys, making sure the trucks are in good shape and school programs mean I’ve missed a lot of family events.

“Getting up and walking away from the table on game night is hard.”

Scott and his wife, Tabatha (Jones), have three children: Mailey, 19 (HHS grad now at UCO); Casen 14, and Cutter, 11.

Tabatha is a speech-language pathologist. She also attended Hennessey schools for several years before moving to Crescent.

The Scotts are active in their children’s school and community activities.

Farming

Scott said their kids also help on the farm.

“Mailey drives hay trucks and Casen has always been interested in farming and all aspects of the business,” he said.

If Scott isn’t out on a fire, or an ambulance call, then he might be on a combine, or more recently, stacking hay.

In addition to wheat, he and his father-in-law, Doyle Jones, also farm alfalfa, rye, Bermuda grass, crabgrass hay and have cattle.