Ad hoc committee adopts revised fire coordinator job description, narrows duties and sets certification timeline
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Summary
Sumner County volunteer fire ad hoc committee on March 24 revised and adopted a fire coordinator job description that emphasizes coordination, relationship building and grant work, removed or narrowed several inspection/training bullets, and required a Fire Inspector I certification within 12 months.
Sumner County’s volunteer fire department ad hoc committee voted March 24 to adopt a revised job description for a proposed fire coordinator that focuses the role on coordination, grant-seeking and relationship-building rather than immediate enforcement or full-time inspection duties.
The committee’s chair said the position should “help the fire departments ascertain where the capital funding needs to go” and act as a central liaison with emergency management, EMS and the sheriff’s office. That language guided several edits the group approved, including striking or rewording items that members felt would overload a single hire.
Why it matters: Members said the coordinator would make volunteer departments more efficient by packaging grants, tracking training and helping departments prepare for ISO audits — work they said could extend limited federal, state or local dollars. Several members cautioned, however, that full code enforcement or routine countywide inspections require the county to first adopt a fire code and likely additional staff.
What the committee decided: By voice vote the group approved a set of edits to the Joint Powers Agreement/job description. The committee struck a bullet that had been read as requiring the coordinator to directly administer regular fire trainings, replacing it with language emphasizing coordination of training. The committee also amended a bullet about fire prevention to direct the coordinator to "analyze the need for" programs and to make recommendations rather than to administer regulatory actions.
On qualifications, the committee agreed to preserve minimum operational experience (Firefighter/Officer-level experience and Instructor I where applicable) while using an "any combination of education, certifications and experience" clause to avoid excluding experienced local candidates without every formal certificate. The committee also added standard administrative minimums (U.S. citizen, valid state driver’s license).
Certification timeline and inspections: The committee voted to require that the coordinator obtain a Fire Inspector I certification within 12 months if not already held. Members repeatedly stressed that formal plan-review and enforcement work depends on the county adopting a fire code; until then, the coordinator’s role on inspections was limited to supporting fire chiefs and recommending changes to governing bodies. One committee member said, “I don’t like the term fire marshal because then all of a sudden you start getting into necessarily law enforcement powers,” explaining the group’s preference for a liaison/coordinator label.
Revenue and funding context: Several members discussed whether inspection or plan-review fees could offset the coordinator’s cost and concluded Sumner County does not yet have the commercial development volume to rely on inspection fees as a primary revenue source. The committee asked staff to produce a cost model (gear replacement cycles, apparatus replacement schedules and per-household estimates) for discussion at the next meeting.
Votes and formal actions: The transcript records voice votes on multiple amendments and motions (agenda and minutes approved; multiple bullets struck or amended; the job description/JPA adopted as amended). Votes were by voice; individual roll-call tallies are not recorded in the transcript.
Next steps: Committee members asked that a cost model and equipment replacement schedule be distributed to members before the next meeting. The transcript also notes a chiefs meet-and-greet on April 2 at Highland Station 2. The committee closed with standard procedural motions and adjournment.
Provenance: The job-description debate, motions to strike and amendments, qualifications discussion, and adoption of the JPA all occur in committee discussion beginning with the recognition of public comments at SEG 037 and continuing through motions recorded starting at SEG 1036; final adoption language and closing remarks appear in the transcript near SEG 2299–SEG 2311.
