Madison County firefighter named Firefighter of the Year

JACKSON, Tenn. — One local organization took the time to honor one first responder for their hard work in the community.

The Jackson Exchange Club honored a Madison County firefighter as Firefighter of the Year.

“Quite honestly, I was shocked. There’s so many more out there that deserve it way more than I do. You just don’t know what they do until you carry a radio around, they go way above and beyond what I do. I’m just a small little piece in a big machine, and it’s an honor to do it,” said Lieutenant Keith Hardee, volunteer firefighter for Madison County.

Lt. Hardee is a volunteer firefighter for Madison County. He has served nine years working on the special operations team. This position is one his favorite ways to serve the Madison County community.

“Over that time I had joined the special operations units which is one of my favorite parts of the fire department — which is search and rescue. Just have to be willing to go. You may be gone one or two days or two hours, you never know, hopefully it’s the ones you get turned around on that you don’t have to respond to,” said Lt. Hardee.

To receive this honor, Hardee was nominated by other firefighters. He demonstrated skills and knowledge within his department, team work, performance above and beyond and his exemplary character.

“I was an industrial firefighter at an aluminum plant here in Jackson and the Madison County Fire Department found out about it and asked me if I would be willing to serve as a volunteer. Several years later I said yes, and so it was a shoe in for me. It made it easier on my training because I’ve already been state certified several times,” said Lt. Hardee.

Hardee says he also enjoys training and working within the community.

“The training gets more intense as you go on. It changes with the times like electric cars and vehicles. That’s new different ways to fight fires. A lot of the house fires or people that have house fires are not as common as it used to because of community education,” said Lt. Hardee.

Lt. Hardee also spoke about his family and how raising his sons helped him serve others.

The Madison County Fire Department also informed us that the fire crew should return Wednesday evening from East Tennessee.

For more news in the Jackson area, click here.