Springfield chiefs urge holiday vigilance, offer mental‑health and scam resources

Jacob King, the Springfield fire chief, and Allison Elliott of the Springfield Police Division used the department’s December 2025 ChiefChat livestream to urge residents to watch for holiday-season mental‑health stress, avoid scams and take basic fire‑safety steps.

King opened the session by highlighting recent downtown events and then emphasized seasonal risks. "In a matter of 20 seconds, your entire tree could be fully inflamed," he said, urging people with live Christmas trees to keep them watered and to use undamaged lighting.

Why it matters: winter holidays often coincide with increased social isolation, elevated stress and greater use of heating and lighting, all of which can raise the risk of fires and of residents becoming targets of fraud. The chiefs said the city’s public‑safety teams and local health partners are available to help.

Allison Elliott described community resources and response options and encouraged people to check on neighbors. "Your life matters," she said, adding that the Police Division works with local mental‑health partners and a mobile crisis response team to connect people to care.

On scams, Elliott warned residents to be suspicious of unsolicited texts or calls that claim to be the IRS or demand immediate payment. She noted materials prepared by the department’s fraud unit and singled out Detective Shane Davis for his outreach presentations. Elliott advised that residents should never provide personal identifiers (name, date of birth, Social Security number or address) in response to unexpected texts or calls and should be wary of requests to pay via gift cards or to cash and return checks.

When King asked whether the police would ever call demanding money to clear a warrant, Elliott said, "Absolutely not," and told listeners to contact the Police Division’s information officers or the nonemergency dispatch line to verify legitimacy. The Police Division nonemergency number provided on the program was 324‑7685; Elliott also directed listeners to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office website and to public court records (she cited the Clark County Municipal Court website) for verification and reporting tools.

Fire‑safety guidance included electrical precautions and space‑heater safety. King said about 45,000 homes start fires each year from electrical causes and urged residents to use certified electricians for wiring work, avoid overloading outlets or daisy‑chaining light strands and to keep space heaters at least 36 inches from combustible materials and to use units with tip‑over shutoff protection.

King also asked residents to clear roughly 3 feet around fire hydrants after snowfall so firefighters can access them quickly. The program closed with a reminder from both speakers to check on vulnerable neighbors during the colder months and with holiday greetings and a note the next ChiefChat will be in 2026.

Sources and attributions are limited to statements made on the ChiefChat program by Jacob King (Fire Chief) and Allison Elliott (Springfield Police Division).