Central Townships Joint Fire District

06/17/2026

The American Red Cross is currently looking for volunteers right here in Madison County!

Are you retired and looking for something meaningful to do? Are you someone who wants to give back to your community? Have you always wanted to help others but weren’t sure where to start?

The American Red Cross is a great organization that provides assistance to people affected by house fires, natural disasters, and other emergencies. They also support military families, blood drives, disaster relief efforts, and many other important community services.

As a Fire Chief, I have seen firsthand the assistance the Red Cross provides to families during some of the worst days of their lives. Their volunteers make a real difference when people need help the most.

If you have the time, compassion, and desire to serve others, I encourage you to check out the volunteer opportunities available through the American Red Cross. You may find a rewarding way to give back to your community while helping those in need.

Sometimes the smallest act of service can make the biggest difference in someone’s life.

Chief Brian S. Bennington
Central Townships Joint Fire District
Madison County Emergency Medical District

06/17/2026

Cheseldine Road Structure Fire – Union Township

I would like to personally thank all of the firefighters, EMS personnel, law enforcement officers, and support agencies who worked diligently yesterday to extinguish the structure fire on Chessel Road in Union Township. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to all of our mutual aid partners whose assistance was instrumental in bringing this incident to a successful conclusion.

At 4:11:56 PM on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, the Central Townships Joint Fire District was dispatched to a reported fully involved structure fire on Chessel Road. Upon arrival, Engine 292 reported a two-story wood-frame residence with heavy fire involvement extending from the Division 2 A side through the Charlie side of the structure. Fortunately, all occupants had safely evacuated prior to the arrival of emergency crews.

Firefighters from across Madison County worked together to conduct fire suppression, search, ventilation, and overhaul operations. At 5:20:33 PM, Chief Bennington reported the fire contained with crews remaining on scene for overhaul and investigation.

Most importantly, the residents were alerted by properly functioning smoke detectors, allowing them to escape the home safely. They were evaluated on scene by personnel from the Madison County Emergency Medical District. One firefighter was transported to the hospital for dehydration and has since been treated and released without further complications.

The fire was brought under control in just over one hour. While the occupants escaped safely, the residence sustained severe damage to the second floor and is uninhabitable at this time.

The Central Townships Joint Fire District would like to thank the following agencies for their assistance:

• Central Townships Joint Fire District
Chief 291
Engine 292
Engine 293

• City of London Fire Division
Engine 361
Ladder 360

• Jefferson Township Fire Department
Chief 251
Tanker 251
Engine 252

• Pleasant Valley Joint Fire District
Tanker 261
Prevention 261
Prevention 262

• Tri-County Joint Fire District
Chief 491
Engine 491
Tanker 491

• Pleasant Township Fire Department (Franklin County)
Tanker 231

• Mechanicsburg Fire Department
Grass 30

• Madison County Emergency Management Agency – Chief Scott Skeldon

• American Red Cross

• Madison County Emergency Medical District
Medic 284

• Madison County Sheriff’s Office

This incident serves as an important reminder that working smoke detectors save lives. Please take a few minutes today to test your smoke alarms and ensure they are functioning properly.

Thank you again to all of the responding agencies for your professionalism, dedication, and teamwork.

Chief Brian S. Bennington
Central Townships Joint Fire District

*  Fire scene photography
Kennedy Bennington

06/14/2026

Thank You from the Central Townships Joint Fire District Association

On behalf of the Central Townships Joint Fire District Association, I would like to thank everyone who came out to our Touch-A-Truck and Ice Cream Social today at Station 293. We had a tremendous turnout and enjoyed the opportunity to meet and speak with many of our residents, as well as visitors from outside our district who came to enjoy the event.

It is always a pleasure to interact with the community on a good day rather than after a 911 call. Events like these allow us to build relationships, answer questions, and showcase the services and equipment that help protect our community every day.

I would also like to recognize the Association officers and members who worked hard to plan and organize this event. Their efforts made the day a tremendous success from start to finish.

Following the event, our new Engine 292 was officially placed into service. As part of a long-standing fire service tradition, personnel performed the ceremonial wetting down of the new engine using water from the tank of the old apparatus before pushing the new engine into quarters. This symbolic passing of the torch honors the service of the previous engine while welcoming a new chapter in protecting our district.

We sincerely appreciate the support shown by our community and thank everyone who took time out of their Sunday to visit with us. Your support means a great deal to the members of the Central Townships Joint Fire District and the Madison County Emergency Medical District.

Photo Credits: Aerial drone photographs courtesy of Firefighter Seth Richardson. All other photographs courtesy of Kennedy Bennington.

Chief Brian S. Bennington
Central Townships Joint Fire District
Madison County Emergency Medical District

06/11/2026

🍦🚒 Central Townships Joint Fire District Association Ice Cream Social & Touch-A-Truck 🚑🍨

The Central Townships Joint Fire District Association would like to invite everyone to join us this Sunday from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM at Station 293, located at 91 State Route 56, London, Ohio, for our annual Ice Cream Social and Touch-A-Truck Event!

Come out and meet the firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, and officers of the Central Townships Joint Fire District and the Madison County Emergency Medical District. This is a great opportunity to see firsthand what your local emergency responders do to protect our communities every day.

🍦 FREE Ice Cream Social
Enjoy a free ice cream treat with your family and neighbors. Donations are appreciated but never expected.

🚒 Touch-A-Truck
Children and adults alike will have the opportunity to explore our fire engines, medic units, rescue equipment, and other emergency vehicles up close. Climb aboard, meet the crews, and learn about the tools we use to serve our district.

🔥 Special Event – Engine 292 Placed Into Service
At the conclusion of the event, we will officially place our newest apparatus, Engine 292, into service. This state-of-the-art, $1 million fire engine was purchased to provide enhanced fire protection for the residents of our district and Madison County.

We hope you’ll join us for an afternoon of community fellowship, family fun, and a chance to interact with your local fire and EMS personnel. We are proud to serve this community and look forward to seeing everyone there!

Sunday
🕛 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
📍 Station 293
91 State Route 56
London, Ohio

We look forward to seeing you there!

Chief Brian S. Bennington
Central Townships Joint Fire District

05/12/2026

Central Townships Joint Fire District and the Madison County Emergency Medical District responded to a two-vehicle injury crash at the intersection of State Route 56 and the Interstate 70 westbound on-ramp today.

One patient was transported from the scene to The Ohio State University Medical Center for further evaluation and treatment.

Due to the time of day and heavy traffic volume, a significant traffic backup occurred in the area. Chief 291 and Engine 293 remained on scene to assist our partners from the Ohio State Highway Patrol with traffic control operations until both Madison County Emergency Medical District units were able to clear the scene.

We would like to remind motorists to slow down, remain alert, and use caution when approaching emergency scenes and stopped vehicles along the roadway.

Units responding included:
• Chief 291
• Engine 293
• Medic 282
• Medic 284
• Ohio State Highway Patrol

05/06/2026

Water Rescue Assist – State Route 38 🚨

Today, Central Townships Joint Fire District units Boat 293, Engine/Tanker 293 assisted law enforcement and Flynn’s Towing with a vehicle recovery on State Route 38, just south of Plumwood.

Upon arrival, crews found a vehicle that had become fully submerged in the creek. Assistant Chief Chamberlain and Captain Fultz donned dry suits and safely entered the water to secure the vehicle. Once rigged, Flynn’s Towing was able to successfully remove it from the creek.

This incident is a great example of training and teamwork paying off. Assistant Chief Chamberlain regularly conducts water rescue training for our personnel, and that preparation showed today with a smooth and efficient operation.

✅ No injuries were reported
✅ Operation completed safely and effectively

Great work by all agencies involved.

04/23/2026

Engine 291, Engine 292 and Engine 293 crews took advantage of the nice weather  today and practiced low visibility search and rescue at Station 293.

04/16/2026

04/16/2026

New Engine 292 update.

Chief Bennington and Assistant Chief Chamberlain have spent the last four days in South Dakota working with All American Fire Equipment on the final stages of our new apparatus build. This project has been nearly two years in the making, and it’s great to see everything coming together after extensive planning and preparation back home.

From design to build, this process takes time, coordination, and attention to detail—but that’s what ensures our firefighters have the best equipment possible to serve our community.

We’re proud to share that this new Engine 292 will be placed in service at Station 292 in Paint Township, strengthening our response capabilities in that area and across the district.

We also want to recognize the outstanding work by the sales and service team at All American Fire. Their professionalism and commitment to getting things right has made this a great partnership from start to finish.

We appreciate the continued partnership and look forward to bringing Engine 292 home and putting it to work for our community. Stay tuned for more updates!

04/11/2026

MADISON COUNTY LEPC FULL-SCALE EXERCISE

Today, a large-scale Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) exercise was conducted at Nissen Chemitec in the City of London, simulating a hazardous materials chemical leak and mass casualty incident.

This coordinated training brought together multiple agencies across Madison County, including:
• London Fire Division
• Central Township Joint Fire District
• Madison County Emergency Medical District
• London Police Department
• Madison County Sheriff’s Office
• Madison County Emergency Management Agency (EMA)
• Madison Health
• Madison Public Health
• Madison County Engineer’s Office
• City of London Safety Services Director

A special thank you goes out to the students from the Tolles Technical Program (Law Enforcement) who volunteered their Saturday to serve as victims, as well as community members who acted as family members, workers, and media personnel. Their participation played a critical role in testing real-world response capabilities.

This exercise, required by the State of Ohio, is designed to evaluate and strengthen our county’s ability to respond to hazardous material incidents and protect our community.

🔹 Exercise Highlights:
• 15 simulated employees rescued from the structure
• 6 critically injured patients transported to Madison Health
• Full decontamination operations conducted prior to hospital evaluation
• Unified command and interagency coordination tested in real-time

This event has been over two years in the making, led by EMA Director Holly Langham and Central Township Joint Fire District Chief Brian S. Bennington. Their dedication ensured a realistic and challenging scenario that pushed all participating agencies.

We would also like to extend our sincere appreciation to Nissen Chemitec for their outstanding partnership over the past two years. Their willingness to open their facility, involve their staff, and support this exercise is a true example of how local businesses and public safety agencies can work together to strengthen community preparedness.

Training like this ensures that when a real emergency happens, we are ready.

Today’s efforts made every participating agency stronger and better prepared to serve the citizens of Madison County.

📸 Photo Credit: Kennedy Bennington

Chief Brian S. Bennington
Central Township Joint Fire Distri