Battalion Chief Michael Mayers will assume duties of Special Operations Program and oversee critical operations. This assignment establishes a focused effort to develop and maintain a professional, standards compliant response that will safely and effectively manage complex, high risk, low-frequency incidents that exceed fire suppression and EMS operations.

Under Battalion Chief Mayers’ leadership, the program will address policy, training, equipment, staffing, and inter-agency coordination, while ensuring alignment with NFPA standards.

The Special Operations Program will include, but is not limited to, the following disciplines:

• Technical Rescue (Rope, Structural Collapse, Confined Space, Vehicle, Trench, Machinery, Tower,

Animal)

• Surface Water Rescue, Swiftwater, Flood Response, and Watercraft/Boat Operations
• Dive Operations 
• Hazardous Materials
• Wildland Fire and Wildland Urban Interface (WUI)
• Incident Management Team (IMT)
• Active Threat / Special Event support

Battalion Chief Mayers will work closely with division leadership, company officers, and team members to build a coordinated, scalable, and sustainable program that enhances operational readiness and service delivery across the department.

Battalion Chief Mayers began his emergency services career in 1980 and has been a member of the Chatham County Fire Department since November 2025. He retired as the Deputy Fire Chief for Hilton Head Island (SC) Fire Rescue in 2017 and also served as the Director of South Carolina’s State Urban Search and Rescue Program. Chief Mayers is currently an Operations Section Chief for the U.S. DHHS/ASPR Incident Management Team.

A graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program, Chief Mayers holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Leadership from Columbia Southern University, an Associate's Degree in Fire Science Technology from Savannah Technical College, and is a designated Chief Fire Officer through the Commission for Professional Credentialing.

Mick currently serves on the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ Urban Search and Rescue Advisory Committee, Columbia Southern University’s Emergency Management Program Advisory Board, and on the Incident Management Teams Association’s Public Health Advisory Board. In addition to having served as the Chair of NFPA's Technical Rescue Professional Qualifications Committee, he was a founding board member and first Vice-Chairman of the State Urban Search and Rescue Alliance.