May 1, 2025 The Beacon • 13
Coshocton Fire celebrates new hires and promotions
By Marianne Austin The Beacon
The Coshocton Fire Department conducted a swearing-in ceremony for recently hired firefighters Bryce Pepper and Matt Limburg and a ceremony for the promotion to rank of captain for Ben Young and Zach Elson on April 25 at the Hale Station on Seventh Street.
Max Crown, city service director for Coshocton, thanked Capt. Nic Carey and Chief Rusty Dreher for putting together the ceremony.
“ I would like to welcome friends and family, our firefighters, and their families. I’ m impressed with all of these gentlemen, the dedication they bring to our city. We wish everyone the best of luck in their careers and to always stay safe,” Crown said.
Limburg graduated from the Ohio Fire Academy.
“ I am eager to get started with my career, working with a bunch of good guys, and I’ m excited to help the community. I enjoy giving back to my community, so when I left the military, this was my way of giving back. My wife is a nurse, and she enjoys helping people, so she is OK with me being a firefighter. It is just how our family is, helping people. I am honored to be employed here at Coshocton Fire Department, and I look forward to all the adventures that come with it,” Limburg said.
There were 36 recruits in the class, and Limburg graduated No. 1, receiving the Honor Graduate Award from State Fire Marshal Kevin Reardon.
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The Coshocton Fire Department conducted a swearing-in ceremony for recently hired firefighters Bryce Pepper and Matt Limburg and a ceremony for the promotion to rank of captain for Ben Young and Zach Elson.
Pepper began his career in 2023 volunteering with the Three Rivers Fire District and obtained Firefighter I and II certifications. He and his wife Courtney live in Keene.
Young and Elson were promoted to the rank of captain at the ceremony. Young was hired at the Coshocton Fire Department in December 2016. He also grew up in the fire service.
“ My stepdad Steve Fox retired from this department,” Young said.“ He retired as a captain, which inspired me. I kept thinking I want to do that. And my dad inspired me. He is a Columbus fireman. He was the fire chief of Warsaw at Walhonding Valley Fire District for a short time before moving to Columbus, and he is about ready to retire. I just grew up in the fire service. My mom is a nurse; my aunt is a nurse.
It is a history of what we do. We grew up with it, we are used to it and my little boy
grew up with it now, kind of like me.
“ So we work a lot of
24 hours. Sometimes we miss Christmas and other holidays. We move the holidays, not necessarily on the date. Sometimes we come in here and do firehouse Christmases and Thanksgiving. This is home for everybody. So that’ s why I love it. I worked Easter this year, so we just celebrated Easter here. That’ s the nice thing about our fire house, and that’ s why I love it. It’ s rewarding. The fact that we can make something good out of a bad situation, that’ s why we’ re here.”
Elson formerly worked as a corrections officer at the Coshocton Sheriff’ s Department and also worked at the Walhonding Valley Fire Department for two years. He and his family currently live in Warsaw.
“ I love the brotherhood, the family, the community,” Mayor Mark Mills said.“ This industry is like no other. These guys run into the burning house when I would be running out of the burning house. That says a lot about who these people are. When the phone rings, it could be something tiny, or it could be something huge. They don’ t know what that call is going to be. But they train and they train, and it is a joy to see the young generation come up and learn from the older generation.
“ We’ re super-proud of this department and superproud of our new firefighters and new captains. It is a pleasure to be part of this ceremony and have these people being a part of our community. One thing I do notice is most of our firefighters have served in some capacity on the federal, on the state or military level. Thank you for continuing your service to our community.”
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