Beasley has named Assistant Chief Shawn Smith to be interim chief. Shawn Smith (no relation to Hezedean Smith) has 21 years’ experience in fire services, all of which have been with Polk County Fire Rescue. He began his career in 2003 as a Firefighter/Emergency Medical Technician. After serving as a Firefighter/EMT for two years, he was promoted to Engineer/Paramedic before moving to a Lieutenant/Paramedic position in 2007.
In 2016, Shawn Smith was promoted to the rank of Battalion Chief/Paramedic, and in 2019 he was promoted to Deputy Chief of Training. After serving as Deputy Chief of Training for two years, he transitioned to the Deputy Chief of Operations until being promoted to Assistant Chief of Business Services.
This is a developing story at and we will update as more information is released.
