Historical Spotlights: Chief John Jansen

July 26, 2023

Most of the moments in our lives are small and mundane, completely inconsequential to our futures. But there are others, like when a young John Jansen saw the New York City Fire Department work a house fire in his neighborhood, that set the sails on our life’s course.

“The first thing I ever saw I wanted to do was be a firefighter… I didn’t plan on doing anything else,” retired Columbia Richland Fire Chief John Jansen reminisced.

Chief Jansen was recently honored with induction into the South Carolina State Firefighters’ Association Hall of Fame, cementing his legacy as an influential figure in the South Carolina fire service. He was bestowed the award during the Executive Committee meeting on Tuesday, July 18, 2023.

Chief Jansen’s journey in the fire service started decades before he moved to the Palmetto State. A native of Staten Island, New York, Jansen’s first exposure to the world of firefighting was when he became a member of the city’s auxiliary department; it wasn’t long before he joined the New York Fire Patrol, a salvage entity that worked hand-in-hand with FDNY on Class 3 calls that needed extra manpower.

After several years on the Fire Patrol, Jansen moved to Hartford, Connecticut, and got involved with training. He taught at both the Connecticut Fire Academy and the National Fire Academy, networking with fire service professionals from across the country, and developed a passion for standardized training.

“When you get into the fire service, especially in the northeast part the country, it’s a real strict, old-school operation… nobody would introduce anything new into the department because the chiefs wouldn’t allow it to happen,” Chief Jansen said.

That old-school mentality wouldn’t cut it for Chief Jansen.

“If you think something needs to be changed, don’t be afraid to say it,” he said.

Chief Jansen brought his experience with volunteers, countywide departments, codes, hazardous materials, and standardized training to Columbia in 1991 after a brief stint in New Orleans, a few years in North Dakota as State Fire Marshal, and some time in Albany, Georgia.

He’d heard through the fire service grapevine that leadership was looking to consolidate the city and county departments, something he had experience with in Albany. He checked off a lot of boxes with his previous experiences and was ultimately named the man for the job.

“I tried saying ‘y’all’ a lot, don’t know that it did any good,” laughed Chief Jansen about his early days in the Soda City. “It was an exciting time, every day something new.”

“The job of a firefighter is a good job,” he stated. “It’s a good profession… you can make a lot of difference in communities by providing good service.”

Chief Jansen’s words of wisdom for the next generation of firefighters stay true to his passion for training.

“Learn the job as best you can. Stay with it as things change… make sure that you can turn around and tell somebody new coming in why you’re doing what you’re doing, and what the rationale is for what you’re doing.”

Watch our full interview with Chief Jansen.