Freehold's Jaye Sims Is Sworn In As Chief Of Fire Department

FREEHOLD, NJ — The Freehold Fire Department enjoyed a proud ceremony recently, in which Jaye Sims was sworn in as chief of the department.

Chief Sims, raised in town and the first African American to serve on the Borough Council, was surrounded by friends, family and other area first responders.

Mike Wilson was sworn in as 1st Assistant Chief, John O'Grady as 2nd Assistant Chief and Lenny Maxfield as 3rd Assistant Chief, the department said in a recent Facebook post.

The department also thanked Chief Steve Sheehan "for his dedication over the last six years, the last two as Chief of Department."

The Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago also was on hand to congratulate Sims.

The occasion brought out a lot of emotion in the Freehold Fire Department (Station 15), as is evidenced in the bio the department presented about Sims:

"Anybody who knows Freehold Borough knows Jaye, who has spent his entire life dedicated to both volunteering and serving the people of this community. Born to Eva Sims, and the youngest of four siblings, Jaye was born and raised in Freehold Borough and graduated from Freehold High School’s Class of 1993.

"Name a committee, and Jaye has served on it. He served on Freehold Borough’s Mayor and Council from 2006 until 2018, the first member of our African American community to serve on our governing body.

"A member of our Good Will Hook and Ladder Company, Jaye has held the positions of company captain, lieutenant, president, and department secretary. He became an assistant chief with our agency on Jan. 1, 2019.

"More important than anything else, Jaye is the proud husband of Danielle and the father of two amazingly beautiful daughters, Mackenzie and Madison," the post from the department said.

The message continued that it may be leaving out some other accomplishments.

"But that is just a testament to Jaye and the meaning he has to the Freehold Borough community. He is a great son, husband, father, brother, neighbor, friend and tireless advocate for the people of this town. We are proud to call him our own and wish him the best of luck as he begins his term," the department said in its post.