MANSFIELD — With an oath to serve and protect the citizens of Mansfield, four young firefighters joined the Mansfield Fire Department on Monday morning.
“I’m excited about it. It’s good to have them on board,” said Mansfield Fire Chief Steven Strickling.
The addition of Christopher Boyd, Jared Hagen, Brandon Young and Mark R. Sieving brings the department total up to 92.
Boyd, 23, is a certified firefighter and paramedic. He came to Mansfield after volunteering at the Lucas-Monroe Township Volunteer Fire Department and working a year at the Shelby Fire Department.
“It’s an exciting job, it’s pretty much not like any job that anybody else does,” he said.
Boyd’s father is a retired assistant chief with the Lucas Volunteer Fire Department in Monroe Township and currently works as a lieutenant in the Richland County Sheriff’s Office.
Brandon Young, 25, comes from a family of firefighters in Mount Gilead, including former fire Chief Richard “Dick” Young and Assistant Fire Chief Bruce Young. He has served as a firefighter in the Mount Gilead Fire Department for the last eight years.
Like Boyd, he enjoys the novelty of the job.
“It gives you a chance to do something different everyday,” he said.
Jared Hagen and Mark R. Sieving are also following in their father’s footsteps. Hagen’s father, Jeff, is a firefighter and police officer in Canal Fulton, Ohio. Sieving’s father, Mark Sieving Sr., is assistant fire chief with the Mansfield Fire Department.
“Growing up around the fire department, it was always a dream of mine,” Hagen said.
Hagen, 20, served as a part-time firefighter in Canal Fulton for two years. In 2018, he was honored by the Ohio Legislature as National Volunteer Fire Council Junior Firefighter of the Year. He is currently finishing up paramedic school.
Sieving, 21, is new to firefighting. A graduate of Clear Fork High School and the Knox County Career Center, he also owns his own welding business.
Multiple factors influenced Sieving’s decision to pursue a firefighting career, including the combination of problem solving and helping others that the job allows.
“It was kind of something that I figured I would do for a long time,” Sieving said of joining the fire department. “I was around it a lot growing up, so even though this is the first time I’ve worked in it, I still almost felt kind of a part of it.”
