New Hardin Fire Chief to be community focused

Jason Garza recently became the new Hardin Fire Chief and is more than ready for the job. Previous to becoming the fire chief, Garza served in the Marine Corps. for five years and served as a fireman in Baytown for 17 years.

Garza is a husband and father of six children. He tragically lost his two-year-old son in a drowning accident in 2019. The loss of his son has motivated him to bring safety awareness to the community and help proactively respond to the citizens’ needs.

Garza is excited to be in the position and is currently working on multiple ways to improve the Hardin Fire and Rescue team, including evaluating the manpower. Hardin Fire and Rescue is a combination department, which means it is a volunteer fire department and has some paid firefighters on staff.

“Manpower plays a big role. I’m instituting training and recruitment. We have volunteers, two paid members on staffand we’re looking to fill another paid daytime spot,” Garza said.

Garza elaborated further about the need for volunteers and training, “We’re always looking for volunteers. It is crucial to get more volunteers, more training and keeping training routines up to date.”

He is also working on evaluating and working on the Incident Command System, which is a valuable asset used by firefighters all over the country. The system helps aide fire departments with understanding the size of incidents, assessing the needs of the response and pinpointing which units will be taking command of the situation.

“We’re excited as a board to have such an experienced Fire Chief to come on board to lead our community with the expected growth to coming to Liberty County. We’re also excited for the training, equipment and hands-on leadership Chief Garza will bring,” Liberty County ESD 7 Board President Klint Bush said.