Chief of Dissolved Landrum Fire Department Receives Nod from New Commission.

(3 November 2015 – Landrum, SC) At their regular monthly meeting last Monday night (October 26), the commissioners of the Landrum Area Fire and Rescue District officially appointed Warren Ashmore as the interim fire chief of the newly formed special purpose district that covers parts of Spartanburg and Greenville Counties.

By a 4-0 vote (with one commissioner absent due to a personal health issue), the Commission unanimously voted to name Ashmore to the job.

Ashmore had been chief of the Landrum Fire Department before it was dissolved in June of this year when the General Assembly created the new special purpose district to cover the same area and expand emergency services.

Ashmore continued serving as chief when the district was formed and officials of both the City of Landrum and the Landrum Area Fire and Rescue District worked through transfers of assets and liabilities for the new entity, but with that transfer completed on October 1, commissioners wanted to make Ashmore’s appointment official.

“Chief Ashmore has done a tremendous amount of work to get us to this point,” said commission vice chair Scott Owens, “but with all aspects of the District now legally separate from the City of Landrum, as a governing board we needed to officially recognize him in this administrative role.”

Chairwoman Pam Hilsman said that Ashmore will remain in the position until it is permanently filled.

“We received a lot of interest in the chief’s position, and since the application period closed on October 31, we’ll begin going through candidates to find the best fit to lead the department from both the administrative and public safety points of view. Until we have that person in place, we need to have a steady hand who understands the department, its personnel, and the district as a whole. Warren Ashmore lead by example and showed us he’s the one to lead the department while we continue the search process.”

She added that the commission hopes to have a permanent chief in place by the beginning of January.

Ashmore, a Landrum native, said that he’s honored to receive the commission’s appointment. “It was humbling to have been elected chief by the firefighters in our former department, but as we move to a more advanced system of fire protection in this area, it’s equally humbling that the governing board of the new entity has faith in me and how I’ve approached the job for the friends and neighbors we serve in the Landrum area.”

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About the Landrum Area Fire and Rescue District

The Landrum Area Fire and Rescue District was created on June 3, 2015 by Act 48 of the South Carolina General Assembly to address evolving fire and emergency needs of the coverage area of the former Landrum Fire Department that included the incorporated City of Landrum, a contract area in Spartanburg County outside (but adjacent to) the city, and approximately 22% of the Foothills Fire Service Area in Greenville County. The district was created to transition from a part-time paid department relying primarily on volunteers to a full-time paid staff of fire fighters with emergency response personnel augmented by volunteers. For more information about the Landrum Area Fire and Rescue District, visit www.LandrumFire.com.

 

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