Marble Falls fire marshal gets a new helmet
MARBLE FALLS — There’s a not-so-new fire chief in town.
The City Council approved Nov. 20 to naming Johnny Caraway as the Marble Falls Fire Rescue chief. He had been serving as the city’s fire marshal.
“I think one of the strong points of Johnny becoming the fire chief is that he does have that experience as fire marshal,” said City Manager Ralph Hendricks. “Many fire chiefs don’t have that additional experience.”
Caraway had been serving as the interim fire chief since Larry Wright retired April 30 from the position.
Since that date, Caraway has worn both the fire marshal and fire chief hats.
Hendricks said Caraway will continue to handle the fire marshal duties for the next several months.
While the city could have hired from outside, Hendricks said he likes it when Marble Falls promotes from within.
“I really like to mentor, train and promote from within when we can because it gives both the city and the person so many advantages,” he said. “For one thing it’s much easier to transition when you already know the person and (he or she) knows the system and people in place.”
Before recommending Caraway, Hendricks spoke with the current MFFR captains and several fire fighters as well as community members who deal with the chief position.
“They were all very supportive of the move,” Hendricks said. “We’re all very excited about it as well.”