MACON, Ga. — "I'm able to stand here today and say, 'I am Fire Chief Edwards. I will always place the mission of this division first. I will always be available, and I will always be accessible,'" Fire Chief Shane Edwards said to an excitement-filled room at Macon-Bibb's fire headquarters as he was sworn in as chief Wednesday morning.
"I started out as a kid, and like most kids do, looking at the firetruck going down the road, and I always knew that I was going to be in some public safety profession," Edwards said.
What started out as a childhood dream became reality for Edwards, right out of high school.
"1988 -- that's when I was hired by this fire department. The first call I made on engine 104 was when I got off of the truck, and we finished the call that day, it was a medical call, but right then, I knew that I was in the right profession," Chief Edwards said.
33 years later, Edwards is in an even higher position than he imagined.
"I remember as a young firefighter, they would sit there and tell us -- and I never thought of it or felt like it back then -- they'd always look at us and say, 'You know, one day, y'all will be running this fire department,'" Chief Edwards said.
Today, he is running the department.
This former Macon-Bibb Firefighter of the Year is now Fire Chief of the County.
"I'm truly humbled, truly blessed to be in this position today and accept the fire chief position. Such a humbling experience," Chief Edwards said.
He says those before him made the fire department feel like home.
Now, he's going to make others feel the same.
"I've always wanted to have the opportunity to make the fire chief position one day and be able to be a representative for our firefighters who are my family, so they know that they have a chief on their side that is always supporting them," Chief Edwards said.
Edwards says he has a lot of things that he wants to accomplish as fire chief.
His main goals are to develop new firefighters, finish building their new training complex, and get new uniforms for his crew.