Ted Wynn, Director of Bulloch County Public Safety/EMA/HS announced the selection of Firefighter and Paramedic Ben Tapley as Bulloch Counties Fire Chief on Friday, October 28, 2022. Tapley has been serving as the interim Bulloch County Fire Chief for the past six months.
He will become the third chief of the department since 2008 following Randy Walker and Chris Ivey.
The Bulloch County Fire Department Chief selection committee included:
- Roy Thompson, Chairman, Bulloch County Commission
- Jappy Stringer, Bulloch County Commissioner
- Ted Wynn, Director, Bulloch County Public Safety/EMS/HS
- Brian Hendrix, Deputy Director, Bulloch County EMS & Lt. Bulloch County Fire
- Tyler Thompson, Lieutenant, Bulloch County Fire Department
- Lee Eckles, Deputy Director, Bulloch County Public Safety
"Chief Tapley has served as interim Chief for the past six months and has done an exceptional job. His education, training, experience, and his love for the fire service and Bulloch County has qualified him to assume the role of Fire Chief," said Ted Wynn. "Please join me in congratulating him on this promotion."
Three Decades of Experience
Ben Tapley began is career in public service as a volunteer firefighter for the Sylvania fire department in 1992 at the age of 20.
He joined the Statesboro Fire Department in 1993 and has "loved it ever since."
He became an EMT in 1995 and a paramedic in 1999. In 2000 he moved from SFD to Bulloch County EMS full time. He served at Bulloch EMS for 10 years, many of those years he was the training officer for EMS.
Seeking an opportunity for advancement Tapley moved over to Bryan County Fire and EMS as Battalion Chief and training officer.
Bulloch County came calling in 2012 when Chief Ivey hired him back as the Deputy Fire Chief and training officer for Bulloch County.
"The position sounded important, but there were only two full time firefighters in Bulloch County at the time, the Chief and Deputy Chief," said Tapley.
After a brief stint as Screven County Fire Chief and EMA director from 2017 to 2019 he returned as the training officer at Bulloch County Fire. He held that position until being named interim Fire Chief and now Chief.
Along the way, Tapley obtained a Bachelor's in Fire Science and a Masters in Public Administration. He also holds certification in Emergency Management as well.
Tapley now leads a department he was asked to resign from
When Tapley left Bulloch County to accept a position with Bryan County Fire and EMS he continued to volunteer with Bulloch County Fire, something he had done since 2006. He also continued to live in Bulloch County, but found it difficult to make all of the volunteer training meetings. Even though he was working full time and completing his training requirements there, he was asked to resign from Bulloch County Fire as a volunteer firefighter."
"One of the hardest things I ever had to was to turn in my gear to a department I loved so deeply," said Chief Tapley. "Going through this however, gave me a unique perspective on how difficult it is at times for volunteer firefighters to serve in that role. They and their family make incredible sacrifices for our department and our community. As chief this is something that I must never forget."
Leading a much different department than when he first joined
Chief Tapley pointed out the remarkable growth of the department over the past few years and thanked Wynn, Tom Couch, Bulloch County Manager and the commissioners for their foresight and vision investing in the department.
Bulloch County Fire Department now includes:
- 18 Full-time positions
- 8 part-time positions
- 57 volunteer firefighters
- Two staffed stations in Brooklet and Portal with plans to open the third in Register in December
- 14 stations
- 18 engines
- 7 tankers
- 1 ladder
- 2 brush trucks
- 1 rescue truck
Pinnacle of a 30 year career
Chief Tapley noted that he has been working for 30 years to prepare himself to step into this role. "It is a definitely an honor, because I love fire and EMS and love Bulloch County Fire," said Chief Tapley. "I find it very humbling that it was a unanimous decision by the selection committee to hire me as chief. It certainly makes me feel good to have that level of support and for them to believe in my as the person to lead the department forward."
Having an experienced leader at the helm of this department is more important now than ever with the extraordinary and rapid growth projected for the county. Chief Tapley is focused on leading the department with an eye on growth and a focus on lowering the ISO ratings for as much of the county as possible.
His long range goal is to have a countywide ISO rating of 5. Much of the county is at a 5x or 10 currently.
Chief Tapley is married to Amber who is a teacher at Southeast Bulloch Middle School. Together they have seven children.
