Murfreesboro native Mark McCluskey, who became the City’s Fire Chief effective July 1, 2023, is the featured guest on “The Insider.”
McCluskey was first hired as a Murfreesboro firefighter in February of 1985 and was promoted to Fire Captain/Fire Inspector in November 1998. McCluskey rose through the ranks of MFRD as a Battalion Chief of Special Operations in 2018, and Assistant Chief of Operations, then Interim Chief in July 2022 before being named Chief. McCluskey oversees a department of 244 personnel, including eleven civilians.
Listen to "The Insider," the official podcast for the City of Murfreesboro via Podbean at https://cityofmurfreesborotn.podbean.com/
or watch the podcast on YouTube at https://youtu.be/XpA1eL20TRE.
McCluskey discusses his history with emergency response dating back to his childhood days with his father, the many services MFRD provides beyond firefighting, and efforts to provide top-rated fire protection benefiting every property owner with lower insurance rates.
Issues discussed on this edition of “The Insider” include:
- How McCluskey followed in the footsteps of his father who served as director of Civil Defense
- Starting his career with Murfreesboro Fire Rescue in 1985 and what the fire department was like in those early days compared to today, including equipment, tactics, and regulations and training
- The Doug Young Public Safety Training Facility, serving eleven City fire stations and other surrounding departments from around Middle Tennessee
- The process of relocating headquarters from the current offices in the old city hall building on Broad St. to new offices on Thompson Lane
- Referred to as an “All-hazards” department, MFRD provides multiple services, including medical response, search and rescue, CPR training, and child safety seat training
- In 2020, MFRD accomplished an ISO (Insurance service Office) one rating with benefits to the community in lower insurance rates
- Achieving National Accreditation in 2021 from the Commission on Fire Accreditation
- 170 of 230 certified firefighters are EMT level or above in medical response training as 70 percent of MFRD calls are for medical emergencies
- Certified Swift Water Rescue on Stones River and for response to flooding as well as deployment to natural disasters in other states
- Ordering new Fire Apparatus such as ladder trucks, including the new Ladder 6, a 75-feet Ladder serving the Memorial Blvd./Haines Drive area near Sports*Com
- Making sure the No. 1 lifesaving device, smoke alarms, are working properly. Citizens can call the MFRD (615) 849-2661 for assistance
- A new class of recruits begins in August 2023
McCluskey serves on the Incident Management Team with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) for deployment in disasters. He is a current member of the Tennessee Fire Service and Codes Enforcement Academy, International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), and International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF). McCluskey was born and raised in Murfreesboro.
Podcasts are easily accessible on the City of Murfreesboro’s website. Just click the “Podcast” link on the bottom of the homepage under “Connect With Us” then click the latest episode or listen to previous episodes.
“The Insider” is hosted by Mike Browning and produced by award-winning producer Michael Nevills at City Hall.
Murfreesboro CityTV can be found on Comcast Channel 3 and 1094, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, YouTube, and the City website www.murfreesborotn.gov/citytv.
For City News online, visit www.Murfreesborotn.gov.