Paris Fire Captain Cade Oats is stepping into a new role with Paris Fire Department after accepting a promotion as Captain, ultimately taking on the newly created position as Assistant Fire Marshal.
Oats began his career with Paris Fire Department in January 2008, where he worked his way from firefighter to driver/engineer to now captain/Assistant Fire Marshal. He was promoted this past week after a March 29 promotional exam was given.
“I feel that he is absolutely the best person for the position he’s accepted,” Paris Fire Chief Thomas McMonigle said. “His experience, knowledge, intelligence and personality all lend themselves to making Captain Oats a perfect fit as the Assistant Fire Marshal. He is a genuinely nice person who really cares about the community where his children are growing up and will work hard to ensure Paris is safe for all of our citizens.”
Oats said he is excited about the opportunity to promote to captain, with the specific position assigned to the Fire Marshal’s office as Assistant Fire Marshal.
“This is going to be a totally new experience for me, as I have spent all 14 years on the Engine either as a firefighter or driver,” Oats said. “I have been blessed to work with some great men, which has made this decision a little tough just because I had such a good crew. When you work together as firemen do, you become more than coworkers – you become family. I will always hold those guys and their families in high regard.”
Having worked with Paris Fire Department for the past 14 years, Oats said he’s had the opportunity to learn from many different people.
“The last 6 years I have been driving for Captain Dan Jennings. I hope to take what he and others have taught me and apply it to this new position,” Oats said.
As the Assistant Fire Marshal, Oats will work closely with the general public doing inspections and eventually fire investigations alongside Fire Marshal Crews.
“I congratulate Cade on his achievement and I’m excited to see him in action,” McMonigle said. “I have no doubt that he and Chief (Clyde) Crews will make a wonderful team and do great things for our City going forward.”
As for the creation of the new position, McMonigle said the assistant fire marshal will help provide redundancy in the fire marshal’s office and to assist with the new growth and development within the community.
“Chief Crews is doing a great job as our Fire Marshal, but there is simply too much of a workload in the Fire Marshal’s office for a single person to handle efficiently,” McMonigle said.
The Bureau of Fire Prevention takes on the responsibility for everything related to fire prevention, plans review, fire inspections and fire investigations.
“We have used contract inspectors over the last several years, but we believe that the demands of the office justify an additional full-time position,” McMonigle said. “This will not only allow us to better handle the workload, it will also allow us to have redundancy in the Fire Marshal’s office so that work may continue unabated in cases of illness, out-of-town training, etc.”
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