On Monday, January 9, 2012, the Ellis County Commissioners Court appointed Joseph Stewart as the new Fire Marshal. Stewart will also act as the Emergency Management Coordinator for the County.

“I am honored to accept the role of Fire Marshal and Emergency Management Coordinator,” Stewart said after the appointment. “I am looking forward to meeting and working with the members of the city and rural fire departments, the Emergency Service District Boards and the Emergency Management Coordinators in the County.”

Stewart has worked in the public safety field since 1985 and is certified in both law enforcement and fire, as well as being a Master Arson Investigator. He recently came from Nortex Regional Planning Commission, where he provided training and support to police and fire departments across eleven counties.

“We are pleased to have Joe Stewart join us and we are looking for many positive changes to take place,” said County Judge Carol Bush. “The interview process was longer than we anticipated, but we wanted to make sure that the correct person was put in place to serve the residents and businesses of the County.”

The County recently combined the two departments, and had to find the right individual with the qualifications necessary to perform both jobs. “Joe’s unique background in both police and fire made him the perfect candidate for the job,” Bush noted.

Stewart is also a Nationally Certified Incident Command Instructor and he has conducted many courses as an adjunct instructor with the Texas Division of Emergency Management. He is a certified Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) trainer and has helped establish several CERT Teams within the Nortex area.

To contact Joe Stewart directly, please call the Fire Marshal’s Office at 972-825-5555.