Caraway retires as Marble Falls fire marshal

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

Marble Falls Fire Marshal Johnny Caraway will officially retire as of Monday, Sept. 19, and the city will begin immediately looking for his replacement.

“Mr. Caraway was in the office on Friday, Sept. 9,” said City Manager Mike Hodge. “He said he had been considering retirement for a while and had decided to submit his resignation.”

Hodge said that Caraway, who lives in Burnet, had served both as fire chief and, most recently, as interim chief during the search for Fire Chief Russell Sander.

Sander will be part of the review panel for applicants.

“A fire marshal conducts inspections, based on the fire code adopted by the city council,” said Sander. “He also is charged with investigating the causes of fires. We have people in the department that can perform some of those duties.”

A fire marshal is not only a firefighter, but also a fire inspector, investigator, and a certified police officer, and is able to enforce the law, provide home and building inspections and investigate fires for signs of arson. Caraway has been a resource in cooperation with area departments that have no marshal, but Sander said Marble Falls Fire Rescue personnel could continue to help with inspections.

Caraway was in the spotlight locally in 2011, after he responded to the massive 110,000-acre wildfire near Matador in North Texas, and the told The Highlander about his decision to follow the path of training to become a fire marshal.

"I wanted to be a police officer,” he said. “I visited a friend at Texas A& M, and he took me over to check out the fire school.
"After that visit, I joined the volunteer fire department in Copperas Cove and, when the fire school at A&M had an opening, I signed up.”
Caraway trained as a paramedic, firefighter and as an investigator. When the position for fire marshal opened in Marble Falls in 2007, he took the leap.
"It's challenging and rewarding," Caraway said.