Jonathan C. Jones was appointed South Carolina State Fire Marshal in 2017. In that role, he serves as chief of South Carolina State Fire. South Carolina State Fire comprises the Office of State Fire Marshal, the State Fire Academy and the Emergency Response Task Force. Previously, Jones was the deputy chief of operations for the Clarendon County, SC, Fire Department, where he began his fire service career at 17 serving as a volunteer firefighter. He has an associate degree and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of South Carolina. Jones received numerous awards, including the Medal of Valor, the Meritorious Action Award and the South Carolina Fire Service Educator of the Year award. He is a past president of the South Carolina State Firefighters’ Association, is in the South Carolina Firefighters’ Hall of Fame and is a graduate of the inaugural class of NFPA’s Responder Forum.