FULTON – When Adam Howard was 16 years old and saw his cousin wave to the driver of a fire truck that honked its horn at them as a hello, he knew two things: he wanted to ride that fire truck and he wanted to help people.
Growing up on a hobby farm in a rural area with not much fire service presence, he thought maybe he would like to be a police officer to help people or a veterinarian to help animals. After the friendly exchange between his cousin and the fire truck, he asked how he could get involved.
“When I was 16, that’s when I first got exposed to [fire service] and from there I’ve always been in it,” Howard said.
Now, he is one month in as Fulton’s new chief of the fire department.
Howard began firefighting at 16 with the Volney Volunteer Fire Department and after he returned from four years in the Marine Corps, he started his career at the Fulton Fire Department in February 2000.
During this time, he was awarded Firefighter of the Year twice and worked his way through the ranks, serving as lieutenant and captain before accepting the position of chief as former Chief Shane Laws retired from the department and was chosen to be the next Oswego County Fire Coordinator.
“Through my natural personality, I’m an active individual. I’m always a go-getter. I like challenges,” Howard said. “I always want to do better for the city.”
Mayor Deana Michaels said the Fire and Police Commission chose Howard for his experience, vision and leadership style. She also said Howard has shown his commitment to teamwork, community and safety through initiatives he has started right out of the gate.
“He’s a born leader who cares about the safety and well being of Fulton. He will serve the department and community well as chief,” Michaels said. “Chief Howard has already started to implement safety initiatives including addressing the drug and needle issue. Chief is involved in training local businesses on safety in the workplace and is working closely with all departments to collaborate on community engagement opportunities. I’m proud of the work I’m seeing already and look forward to what the future holds.”
Howard described his views on leadership as one should respect the person doing the job, not the position itself.
“I want to be the leader. I want to be the person to say, ‘Hey, these guys look good.’ And it’s because they want to look good with me, not for me. They want to serve this community with me, not for me,” Howard said.
He said since he transitioned from captain to chief, he now looks at things with a different perception. Before, he had a more hands-on leadership role, but now, he knows he has done his job correctly if a situation does not make it all the way to him.
“The biggest heartache I have right now is when I walk up to the station and the fire trucks are out the door… and I know what call they’re on, but [I don’t] know the details,” Howard said.
Since Howard began on August 1, his goals have been: to become a resource for the county; to work with the county to make sure not only the city residents are protected, but also the people coming through the city and who live outside the city limits; to continue with the Community Risk Reduction program; to make sure people have smoke detectors and are educated in fire safety; for everyone who visits the city’s businesses to be safe; and to work with school districts.
Howard said the fire department’s mission statement has changed tremendously in the last two decades since he was hired.
“When I first started in the fire service, they were transitioning to EMS,” Howard said. “And now, we have fire, EMS, Hazmat, Tactical Rescue, and we’re getting more back into codes, or fire engineering as I like to use the term. It’s being able to address all these hazards, this all hazard-encompassing agency… My ultimate goal is to continue doing this job and just trying to make it better, make everyone work together.”
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Best thing to happen to Fulton in a long time! He’s a good man