2009-11-12

Commissioners choose PC resident as new fire marshal

Judith Pannebaker

In a closed executive session on Thursday, Nov. 5, Bandera County Commissioners interviewed five candidates for the position of Bandera County fire marshal.

After reconvening in open court, they selected veteran firefighter John Stith to lead the county’s conflagration brigades. The vote was 3-1, with Precinct 2 Commissioner Bobby Harris casting the lone nay vote.
Explaining his vote, Harris said, “I felt another candidate had a stronger background and more experience, especially in arson investigation and in the area of code compliance.” He added, however, “I fully support Mr. Stith’s selection as county fire marshal and think he will do a fine job. I look forward to working with him.”

A resident of Pipe Creek since 1994, Stith will take over the duties when Fire Marshal Ralph Dresser retires on Tuesday, Dec. 15 – an early Christmas present for his wife, Dolly.

From 1978 to 1982, Stith served as a firefighter for the United States Air Force. From 1982 though 2009, he served with the US Civil Service as a firefighter and from 2003 to 2009, as district fire chief at Lackland Air Force Base.

Stith recently retired from the federal government after 30 years of service in the fire department. After leaving the USAF in 1982, he became a federal firefighter directly involved in HazMat Operations. In that capacity, he received certifications as HazMat Operations Technician and Incident Commander, the highest level attainable.

After being promoted to captain in the late 1980s, Stith was trained in confined space inspections and rescues, swift water rescues, fire victim rescues and hazmat mitigation.

After 17 years, he became district chief, a position that required him to deal with management of emergency operations of multi-jurisdictional emergencies, including flooding, severe weather and large wild fires.

As district chief, Stith’s duties included working as incident commander and manage all resources, direct multiple fire fighting apparatuses as needed and protect the health and safety of the public.

He also supervised five to 20 firefighters and submitted required fire and medical reports to national reporting agencies for data collection.

In addition to his firefighting duties, Stith is also certified as Fire Inspector 1 and has been inspecting federal facilities for the past 10 years. Additionally, he is currently obtaining his Texas Peace Officer certification in Uvalde.

Dresser couldn’t be more pleased with Stith’s selection, calling him “a good man who’s well qualified.”

Dresser continued, “He’s been working with me since June or July and has assisted with 10 fires, including brush and structure fires and fire complaints. He’s shown a lot of interest and dedication.”

In addition, Dresser interviewed the “head honcho” in firefighting at Lackland AFB, who called Stith “one of the best men we had.”

Due to his class schedule in Uvalde, Stith could not be reached for comment on his appointment as Bandera County Fire Marshal.