Jean Gordon
Wednesday, August 28, 2024 9:36 am
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The new fire chief for The Town of Forest City, Billy Ray Samuel, Jr plans to keep moving the fire department forward to be better than ever before, he said during a recent interview.
"Our firefighters are highly trained and will continue furthering our education," Samuel said.
He was named Fire Chief and sworn into office at the August 5 meeting of the Forest City Town Council. He has extensive experience in fire service and joined the Forest City Fire Department in 2004 when he was hired by then Chief Mark McCurry.
"Our Dad was a volunteer with Hudlow when I was very young, our older brother retired from Hudlow with 30 years of service," Samuel said. "We all started at Hudlow. I later joined Rutherfordton," Samuel said.
Samuel said he started at the bottom and was promoted to Captain and then became Fire Chef.
"I love the fire service and what it has done for me over the last 33 years," Samuel said. "This is not everyone but I would encourage anyone that would like to see what we are about to come by and try. It doesn't have to be at Forest City, we have 16 other departments that are willing to give someone a chance just like the one I got at 16 years old. Start their own family tradition, let their grandkids talk about how Grandpa was a firefighter."
Samuel says he has the opportunity to live in the best town and will work to make it even better for residents and visitors.
"We as town employees are part of what makes Forest City beautiful and a great place to live and work. Each department in this town works great together. My hope is to continue that from now on," Samuel said.
Forest City Town Manager Janet Mason announced Samuel's appointment as fire chief.
"Samuel brings 33 years of fire service experience, a wealth of knowledge, and a strong dedication to leading and serving the people of Forest City to this new role," Mason said, when he was named fire chief.
Samuel served as interim fire chief since the retirement of Chief Ferrell Hamrick.
Samuel holds a number of qualifying certifications and is a member of various emergency response organizations, including the Rutherford County Fire Chiefs Association, the Rutherford County Emergency Management Response Team, the North Carolina Fallen Firefighters Foundation, and the IAFC Terrorism of Homeland Security team.
Among those attending the ceremony were his family and firefighters from his past and present days.