Tommy Crane new Marble Falls fire chief
Chief Tommy Crane is excited to lead Marble Falls Fire Rescue in the coming years. Staff photo by Nathan Bush
The city of Marble Falls named Tommy Crane chief of Marble Falls Fire Rescue as the department looks to expand its community outreach and prepare for the area’s eminent growth. His appointment was announced during a City Council meeting on June 6.
“We’re excited about him and his leadership,” City Manager Mike Hodge said. “He’s been a force (at MFFR) to make sure things stay on course. We’re so happy to have Tommy on board.”
Crane replaces former Chief Russell Sander, who was named assistant city manager in April. The new chief had served under Sander as fire marshal since 2017 before being named interim chief in the wake of Sander’s job change.
“Chief Sander and I started our careers together 30-something years ago at a fire department in Taylor,” Crane said. “He’s been my friend and mentor — pretty much the whole way — as we’ve progressed in our careers.”
Crane credited Sander’s mentorship for the city’s decision.
“The city showing confidence in me to lead this organization is a direct reflection of Russell because they see in me the same leadership style he brought to the department,” he said. “A lot of things I have in me I learned through him.”
Crane looks forward to expanding Marble Falls Fire Rescue’s community outreach efforts.
“We’re going to be more out in the community than we already were,” he said. “We’re going to continue to grow that.”
The new chief specifically wants to send his firefighters into nursing homes and assisted-living facilities to have lunches with the residents, a more positive engagement than what is typical.
“Normally when they see us, it’s on a bad day for them,” Crane said. “We want to be there for them on a good days, too.”
Another priority for Crane is to recruit and retain firefighters, something departments across the country have struggled with in recent years.
“We want to try and hire people that stay here for life,” he said. “Sometimes that’s unrealistic, but sometimes it happens. We want to hire the most qualified people, but we also want to try and recruit people from this area that know and love this area.”
Marble Falls Fire Rescue is also preparing for area growth by starting renovations to Fire Station No. 1, located at 700 Avenue N, in the fall and planning for a new fire station in south Marble Falls.
“With growth, there’s challenges,” Crane said. “We’re experiencing those challenges with the growth we’ve seen so far. We have to look at it and figure out how we’re going to manage our response times and the positioning of apparatuses and stations to meet the needs of the community.”
Crane believes his current staff is more than capable of tackling any issue facing the department.
“The staff here is tremendous,” he said. “They’re always professional and have one thing in mind: to help the community.”
The new chief plans to institute an open-door policy for his office at Fire Station No. 1 as a reflection of his leadership style.
“They can talk to me about anything,” Crane said. “It can be about the fire service, it can be personal, it can be about anything. I want our staff to know they will always have a voice on how we move forward.”