Kosciusko native Danny Townsend is set to be the next fire chief for Attala County following approval of the board of supervisors.
This will be a new role for Townsend, but he is far from inexperienced. He has served as emergency manager and fire coordinator since 2002. Following the recent retirement of Chief Roy Williams, Townsend will now combine his emergency manager role with the fire chief duty.
A man of many duties, he has also served as floodplain manager, worked in Homeland Security, hauled freight, and currently serves as lead pastor of Unity Baptist Church. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Susanne, his children, Brian and Laurie, and his grandchildren, Jakub, Sadie, Brianna, and Matthew.
Townsend is far from foreign to emergency situations; in fact, he has been around them his entire life. When he was growing up, his parents owned a towing business, so Townsend went along to many accidents and rescues. At the age of 18, he began working for civil defense.
In 2001, Townsend got the opportunity to pursue emergency management full time. After a year in that role, he was asked to become the fire coordinator for the county as well.
As the next fire chief, Townsend said that Attala County Fire is focused on continuing its success on the foundation it was left with. He said that he would love to add more services to the county, but it will take some additional help.
“It takes enough trained volunteers to do it, but I would love to start responding to medical calls again. I realize that in this day and age that we live in now, people just don’t have the amount of time that they used to have, but hopefully we can expand our volunteer organization and build up our full-time roster as well,” he told The Star-Herald.
Townsend said the shortage of volunteer firefighters is nationwide, so his main priority is keeping his firefighters trained to the best of their abilities. He is also welcoming future applicants that may choose to serve.
“We’ve got some openings, so anybody wanting a full-time position who would like to become a firefighter and help the community, come by to pick up an application,” he said.
Another area Townsend wants to focus on is lowering the fire rating, which he said is a balancing act between a lot of different entities, including insurance companies and rural water facilities.
“You’ve got to look at the expense of the equipment, the station, and everything else it takes to get that rating down to where you want it in relation to taxes paid. It’s a delicate act, but we're going to be looking at those signs and seeing what we can do there,” he said.
He also mentioned that equipment may need additional upgrade. At the end of last year, the county received five new fire trucks, and Townsend is hoping for more additions to other stations that have aging equipment.
A new county fire station is in the works on South Huntington Street across from Parkway Baptist Church. Townsend is optimistic about the new station and sees it as another opportunity to build on a strong foundation. He envisions it being completed next year pending approvals and expenses.
When asked about the most rewarding part of his work, he said that he simply enjoys helping the people of Attala County.
“I love being able to help people. That's what we're here for. Unfortunately, we see things that people have to face in the worst time in their lives such as losing a house or a loved one,” he said. “That part is difficult, but it's still rewarding to be able to help. And we’ve been able to help a lot of folks through the years.”
Townsend also offered advice to the public on preventing summertime fires.
“We run a lot of grass fires. A lot of times, they start from people burning trash, leaves, or brush when the fire seems to be burned down. But those ashes are still there, and the wind will come along, pick it up, and get it into some material that it hadn't burned, and then we have a grass fire,” Townsend said. “The main thing is to just keep an eye on your fires and have prevention around the house. We also have a lot of fires in the wintertime when it's cold, so keep things away from space heaters. A fire is something that can get out of hand, cause property damage, and cause the loss of lives.”
