Williamson County Appoints Its First Fire Marshal

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — Commissioners court members have named Marty Herrin as the county's new fire marshal after having recently created the position, officials announced Monday.

On Feb. 20, the Williamson County Commissioners Court created a fire marshal office effective April 1, 2018. The Commissioners Court named Herrin, Williamson County Hazardous Materials chief, to be the county’s first fire marshal with plans for his swearing-in on Monday, April 2.

One of the main objectives of the county fire marshal is to create a working group of all the fire marshals in Williamson County, whether they work for a municipality or an Emergency Service District (ESD), officials explained. One goal of that group will be to standardize building codes, officials added.

The group will review the various building codes they each are using and try to standardize those codes as much as possible for the entire county, according to county officials. With a set of standardized building codes, builders will know that they will have to meet the same set of standards no matter where in the county they want to build, they added. The fire marshal working group also will be working together on fire investigations so that the same fire investigation services are available throughout the county, with the county fire marshal is responsible for investigating all fires in unincorporated areas, a press advisory indicated.

According to a bio provided by the county, Herrin has worked in fire service in Williamson County for 35 years. Twenty years ago, Herrin was the assistant fire chief in Cedar Park when he began working with the other county fire departments to encourage the county to start the Williamson County hazardous materials (haz-mat) response team. The team took a regional approach to haz-mat response, which would reduce the expenses for each department by sharing haz-mat resources, officials noted.

Through that group, Herrin worked with all the fire service departments in the county, the bio continues. The success of the regional haz-mat team spawned the Williamson County Fire Chiefs Association to ask Herrin to create a Technical Response Group to work with swift water and other special fire responses, officials added. After successfully implementing that group, the Fire Chiefs Association asked Herrin to approach the County about creating the County Fire Marshal Office under the same concept., officials said.

“Williamson County has seen tremendous growth, especially in unincorporated areas of the county,” County Judge Dan A. Gattis said. “As the growth expanded, we saw the benefit of having a single county fire marshal, following the example of the haz-mat team, to standardize building codes and fire investigation in the county. In the end, our regional approach to these issues is saving the tax payers money.”

Herrin holds certifications from the Texas Commission on Fire Protection for Fire Inspector 1, Fire Inspector 2, and Plan Examiner 1. He also has a Fire Investigator certificate. Herrin has been a fire school instructor at Texas A&M Municipal Fire School for the past 25 years.

>>> Photo of Marty Herrin courtesy of Williamson County