Courtesy Photo | U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jake McCorkle, left, and firefighter Andrew Kegley pose in...... read more read more
Tech. Sgt. Jake McCorkle, 445th Security Forces Squadron assistant noncommissioned officer in charge of Security Forces training, is scheduled to be recognized by Columbus Division of Fire as a firefighter of the year Feb. 13, during the agency’s 36th annual awards banquet.
McCorkle recently celebrated his 9th anniversary with Columbus Fire, serving at Station 14: North Graceland.
“There’s zero chance I will ever leave – zero,” he said.
He enlisted in the Air Force Reserve in 2007, serving four years with the 445th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron. As a Senior Airman, he then cross-trained to SFS, where he met retired Chief Master Sgt. William Arehart and retired Senior Master Sgt. Keith Ford.
Although McCorkle was considering a fulltime civilian career in law enforcement, Arehart and Ford encouraged him to consider the fire department in Ohio’s capital, where they both worked.
“That year, there were almost 10,000 applicants,” McCorkle recalled. “They only hired about 150.”
Two and a half years later, he finally joined their ranks. He commutes from Chillicothe, Ohio, to work at what he says is, “The best fire department in Ohio, bar none.”
As a first responder, McCorkle works 24-hour shifts, responding to a range of emergency calls, including structure fires, car accidents, shootings and stabbings.
Station 14 is located on the southern edge of the city and is the sixth busiest in the agency. In total, Columbus Division of Fire employs about 1,600 firefighters across 35 stations.
McCorkle was nominated as firefighter of the year by his station’s leadership and is one of three award recipients for 2025.
“Other people get up and go to their job for a paycheck,” he said. “I go see my friends, and we respond to calls that come in.”
| Date Taken: | 01.22.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 01.22.2026 15:13 |
| Story ID: | 556553 |
| Location: | WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, OHIO, US |
| Web Views: | 19 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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