When Aaron Knotts was laid off from the Chillicothe Fire Department in 2004, he never thought that he would return and rise to the rank of chief. Knotts has served nearly 20 years with the Chillicothe Fire Department, being hired in 2001 after serving as an Air Force firefighter at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina for six years.
"Obviously it was not good as a firefighter to be laid off, but looking back that was literally just 15 years ago, I was one of the least senior people in the department when I got called back. And 15 years later, I'm chief. That's a pretty neat story," he said.
Knotts was born and raised in Lancaster, and after leaving the military in April 2001, wished to return to Southeast Ohio.
"My grandpa is from the Ross County area, and I had a job opportunity come up and I could leave the military, so I took the opportunity," he said.