Jeffrey Saad has a family history of meaningful service to the town of Webster dating back to the 1890s.

 “It’s a generational thing for me,” said Fire Chief Saad. “My mother’s family has served the town for over 100 years. Rodney Budrow, Sr., my grandfather, retired from town service in 1970 serving in the fire department, and my uncle, Rodney Budrow, Jr., retired from the police department in 1999. I’ve always been aware of my relatives serving the town in significant ways since I was a kid. With relatives being so involved in the fire department, I just grew up with the history and witnessed large fires in town like Paul’s Pizza and always saw how closely the fire crews worked together to bring down a fire situation and I saw their camaraderie and how they learned from each other.”

Chief Saad holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice as well as a Master’s Degree in Public Administration with a concentration in Emergency Management Services. He initially explored the field of police work after his first degree’s accomplishment but soon found that it was very competitive at the time. In 2011, he began working for the Webster Fire Department’s on-call division and worked his way up from Private to Driver then Lieutenant, Deputy Chief and was recently appointed Fire Chief in August 2025. He’s done his certifications including a 17-week stint in the Chief Fire Officer’s Program. 

Some of the highlights of his career include seeing the progression that Webster’s Fire Dept. has made expanding from a call department to a full-time staff of personnel ready for service immediately. “The service we provide today is so much better than five years ago,” said Saad, “our fire trucks are dispatched immediately and are so much quicker with our experienced fire department personnel. Future plans are to increase our services and staffing and to modernize our fleet, although much of our current equipment is up-to-date and we are also awaiting a new piece of equipment that will be delivered in 2027. We’ll increase training and decrease our response times. We want to ensure that we are all current in every way to ensure the safety of our town residents. I’ve been fortunate enough to take many classes at the Fire Academy where I’ve had the opportunities to meet many other Fire Chiefs to learn from their experiences and to network with them. It’s been extremely valuable to gain knowledge and to learn from them at our seminars.”

The Webster Fire Department currently has a staff of 18 full-time personnel including Saad and the Deputy Chief. There are four groups of four personnel at the station at most all times. Saad is looking to add a Fire Prevention Officer who will be in charge of permitting and inspections and hopes to be able to add this position next year.

“Budget reviews are coming up in January and February,” he said. “And budgeting has become challenging. A few years ago, you knew what state aid you’d be receiving but today, it’s not the same. We all have to work together or we’ll fail. We all have to make sacrifices with our budgeting to help each other. In our department we tend to manage our budget well to the best of our ability and we want to add what we can for the better of the town and its residents. The budget is a challenge as is the staffing that must be maintained while keeping on safe levels of personnel. Four people isn’t a lot and we rely heavily on mutual aid. Staffing is critical. I give our Fire Department staff much credit. I’m fortunate to have a great crew and I look forward to providing the best service to the town.”