Vernon Township Fire Department is officially hiring a new fire chief, with applications open through October 2 at 4 p.m. for a role that pays between $100,890 and $108,890 a year. The Hancock County department is looking to fill the top job left vacant after former chief Mark Elder departed in May to become the county's director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
The job posting, shared by Vernon Township Fire Department on Facebook, calls for someone to “lead, inspire, serve” and describes the role as a chance to “make a lasting impact on a community and the future of our organization.” Candidates need at least five years of experience in a full-time paid fire department or agency, and the department says a bachelor's degree in fire science, public administration, or a related field is preferred. Applicants must also demonstrate strong leadership, communication, and decision-making skills, along with a commitment to professional development and community service, according to the posting. Those interested can apply online through the Vernon Township Fire Department hiring website.
Elder's exit left a leadership gap at a department that has grown considerably in a short span. He had served the department since its founding, working as fire marshal, deputy chief, and finally chief before his move to the county homeland security post, as reported by The Daily Reporter. He wasn't the department's first chief to move on relatively quickly — Chad Abel took command in May 2020 to help stand up the newly formed fire territory and oversee its early rollout of 24/7 station coverage before resigning in June 2022, the outlet's earlier reporting noted.
A Department Built From Scratch in Six Years
Whoever takes over inherits an organization that barely resembles the one that existed before 2020. The Vernon Township Fire Protection Territory was officially established on July 1 of that year to unify fire protection and EMS across 31 square miles covering Fortville, McCordsville, and rural Vernon Township, unifying jurisdictions that previously relied on separate volunteer fire companies. The territory's governing board includes representatives from both town councils and the township trustee, according to the department.
The shift toward professional staffing came quickly. VTFD swore in its first class of nine full-time career firefighters in November 2021, marking its complete transition away from a volunteer and part-time response model, the department's history shows. Today the department fields 30 career firefighters across three rotating 24-hour shifts, with minimum shift staffing of nine personnel split between two stations — three at Station 431 in Fortville and five at Station 432 in McCordsville, per the department's operations page.
Rising Call Volume Awaits the New Chief
Station 432 itself is a relatively recent addition, opening in McCordsville in August 2023 after a $7.12 million bond issue funded round-the-clock coverage north of freight railroad tracks that had long delayed emergency response when trains blocked crossings. Both of the department's stations previously sat south of those tracks, the same reporting from The Daily Reporter's 2023 coverage noted.
The incoming chief will also be stepping into a department with a steadily climbing workload. VTFD responded to 1,995 total calls in 2025, a 10.5% jump from the 1,805 calls logged in 2024, with emergency medical service runs accounting for more than 71% of that volume — 1,433 runs in all. Former department leadership has said run volume tends to rise by roughly 0.09% for every new township resident, a trend line that underscores just how fast growth in Fortville and McCordsville is reshaping demand on the agency.
New Equipment and a Countywide Financial Review
Equipment needs are part of that growth story too. VTFD ordered its first-ever aerial ladder truck, a 100-foot Sutphen mid-mount Quint, scheduled for delivery this year after a 2019 ISO evaluation flagged the need for high-reach apparatus amid growing multi-story development in the territory. The truck is being funded through investments in Trust Indiana, according to the department.
Station 431 in Fortville also houses a Safe Haven Baby Box, installed under Indiana's Safe Haven Law, which allows mothers in crisis to anonymously surrender infants into a climate-controlled, monitored enclosure that locks from the outside and alerts on-duty firefighters within seconds. Meanwhile, Hancock County commissioned financial advisory firm Baker Tilly in 2024 to study five-to-ten-year growth projections, staffing needs, and funding options across all of the county's fire protection territories, a review requested by the Hancock County Council to prepare for regional population growth.
The fire chief posting frames the role as one focused on building community trust, engaging residents, businesses, and elected officials, and driving what the department calls innovation, operational excellence, and fiscally responsible solutions. Benefits listed for the position include a 457 Indiana State Deferred Compensation Plan, comprehensive health, vision, and life insurance, an employee health clinic, minimal-fee dental coverage, and FERP 77 or civilian retirement options. VTFD has responded to a string of high-profile incidents in the area recently, including a pickup truck crash that triggered a wall collapse and late-night evacuation at a Fortville apartment building in July.
