Marshall Rasor, the interim Fire Chief for Ashland Fire & Rescue, has been selected as the permanent head of the City of Ashland’s 45-person department.
Rasor joined Ashland Fire & Rescue in 2003 as a firefighter and worked his way up through the ranks, most recently serving as the Operations Chief. Rasor has served as the City’s interim Fire Chief since March, when former Fire Chief Ralph Sartain retired.
“We are excited to continue working with Chief Rasor and value his leadership within the Fire Department,” Mayor Tonya Graham said. “He brings strong experience and a deep commitment to serving our Ashland community.”
When asked about the driving force behind her selection, City Manager Sabrina Cotta responds, “Fire and medical response face many challenges, including funding, regional collaboration and a shift in service demand. Chief Rasor knows this community, knows our department, and has the jurisdictional relationships we need to navigate the challenges over the next 10 years.”
Chief Rasor shared that he is “deeply grateful for this opportunity and excited to lead Ashland Fire & Rescue into the future with collaboration, trust and service at the core of everything we do.”
Ashland Fire & Rescue provides fire protection to the City of Ashland, emergency medical services to the city and surrounding areas and community risk reduction through a Fire Marshal program, Wildfire Mitigation program and Fire Adapted and Smokewise Ashland. The department has 45 permanent employees, with an approximately $12.6 million annual operating budget.
A badge pinning ceremony will be held for Chief Rasor and other intradepartmental promotions on Thursday, November 13 at 6:30 p.m. at Carpenter Hall. The public is welcome. We are Better Together!
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