RC3 Hoover Fire Academy

Join us in congratulating these former RC3 Fire Academy Students for completing their Firefighter I/II Certification with The Alabama Fire College. We are very proud of their accomplishments and excited about their future!

This week HFA students visited the Hoover 911 center and Hoover Fire Dept. headquarters. They have been learning about dispatch communications and command structure within the Fire Department.

Great day for the Hoover Fire Academy! We started the day off at the 911 Memorial Stair Climb benefiting the Hoover Public Safety Foundation. We then went to Heart of Dixie Harley Davidson for the annual Bike ride benefitting the students of the Fire Academy. Thank you to all of the students who volunteered their time even on homecoming.

Meet the Instructors!

Lt. Jeff Otwell has been a professional firefighter for 28 years and retired from the Hoover Fire Department in 2022. He served as a Lieutenant on Engine 3 in Riverchase for the last 12 years of his career. He also served on the Hoover Fire Honor Guard and as a department Chaplain. Lt. Otwell is starting his 7th year at the RC3 Hoover Fire Academy and was part of the program when it initially launched. He holds a Bachelors Equivalent degree in CTE and is a certified teacher with the ALSDE. Lt. Otwell has a passion for helping students find their passion in life and being assets to the community once they graduate the program. He married his high school sweetheart Jennifer and they have been married the past 31 years. They have 2 sons Jacob and Justin. Lt. Otwell enjoys long walks on the beach and yacht rock. He also founded the Southwest Blount County Crawdad Catching competition where he held the crown for several years until he was dethroned by Chief Hinds in 2004 but later reclaimed the title in 2015.

Meet the Instructors!

Landon Johnson has been a professional firefighter for over 18 years. He has spent 15 of those years with the City of Hoover and holds the rank of Lieutenant and is assigned to Fire Station Four. He has been married to his wife Jaime for 14 years. They have three children; Trace age 11, Maddox age 8, and Rylan age 6. Lieutenant Johnson has been with RC3 since its inception in 2019.

Lieutenant Johnson has an Associates Degree in Emergency Medical Services from Jefferson State Community College, a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Public Safety and Health Administration from Athens State University, and a Masters of Education in Career and Technical Education from Athens State University. He also holds a Sixth Year Equivalent Teacher’s Certification with the State of Alabama.

In his personal time, Lieutenant Johnson enjoys spending time with his family and coaching his kids in baseball. He is very passionate about physical fitness and helps to coordinate the Hoover Fire Department Physical Fitness Program. He also enjoys woodworking where he mills up logs and makes furniture out of them with his neighbor. He is also on the worship team at his Church where he plays the bass guitar. Lieutenant Johnson enjoys seeing students find their passion, whatever that may be.

Meet The Instructors!

Battalion Chief Nathan Hinds has been in the fire service for a total of 28 years spending the last 24 years with the Hoover Fire Department. He also spent 6 years as the Training Officer for the Hoover Fire Department. For the past 16 years Chief Hinds has served as an adjunct instructor for the Alabama Fire College teaching numerous classes. He holds a degree in Fire Science from Jefferson State and a degree in Public Safety from Athens University. He is a certified Training Manager Officer from the National Fire Academy. Chief Hinds is starting his 2nd year as an instructor at the RC3 Hoover Fire Academy. He has been married to his wife Natalie for 23 years and they have 3 children. In 2004 he was the Southwest Blount Co. Crawdad Catching Champion.

Meet The Instructors!

Hello my name is Martin Daugherty and I am a 3rd year fire instructor at RC3. I was born and raised in Hoover and graduated from Spain Park High School. I graduated from the University of Alabama and majored in Business Management. I have been a firefighter for almost 6 years and with Hoover for almost 5. I am currently assigned to station 7 as a Fire Engineer on Quint 7 (Spain Park Fire Truck) I am married to my high school sweetheart who is a newly certified nurse practitioner. We have a golden retriever named Copper and a baby girl on the way coming in December!

Getting thinks shined up for the first open house tonight!

RC3 Hoover Fire Academy is super proud of our 2025 seniors! Yesterday they were awarded their RC3 pins and scholarship awards. We can’t wait to see what their future holds and we know it’s going to be great!