By Dale Jones
Editor
During last week’s regular council meeting in Clay, Center Point Fire District Battalion Chief Gene Coleman formally introduced elected officials to the city’s new fire marshal, Brandon Self.
Self has been with the fire department for six years, and moves into the position vacated by Matt Angelo who recently retired.
“He will be handling all of our fire prevention needs, investigations, and public events,” Coleman told the council. “He is a resident who grew up around this area and has been my backup for quite a while.”
The fire marshall works as the liaison between the community and the fire department for events like Clay Days and blood pressure monitoring events and is available to answer any fire-related questions.
“I am super excited to be working in this capacity and I am at your disposal if you need me,” Self said.
Self encouraged the council and the public to contact at any time if he could be of assistance. He can be reached via email at bself@centerpointfire.com.
Outdoor burning
Coleman took time during the meeting to remind the public that outdoor burning is illegal in Jefferson County, even though citizens are tempted to do so when doing spring cleaning in their yards.
“We are in the month of March and everybody is raking leaves and getting yards pretty, but the last couple of days we have had a few brush fires,” Coleman said. “We just want to urge everyone not to do any outdoor burning. It is illegal in Jefferson County plus it contributes to air pollution, so we need to make sure we follow the guidelines.”
Coleman also said that during the time change, it is the ideal time to check batteries in smoke detectors.
“I can’t tell you how many times we deal with fires in our area, and we open up the smoke detectors and there are no batteries it them. We just really need to get the word out.
Coleman reported that there had already been 27 fire fatalities in the state in 2016, which is almost double compared to the same time last year.
“We just want everyone to turn their attention to fire prevention. Anybody who can share that message, it helps us.”