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Holcomb appoints Stephen Jones as Indiana state fire marshal

Brownsburg Fire Marshal Stephen Jones was appointed by the governor to serve as the Indiana state fire marshal.
Brownsburg Fire Marshal Stephen Jones was appointed by the governor to serve as the Indiana state fire marshal.

Indiana has a new state fire marshal – a position responsible for investigating suspicious fires and enforcing fire and building safety codes.

The governor recently named Stephen Jones to the position.

Jones spent the last nine years as the fire marshal in Brownsburg, an Indianapolis suburb. He has a total of 38 years in the field, including as a firefighter, emergency medical technician, HAZMAT training coordinator and fire inspector.

In a statement, Gov. Eric Holcomb said that experience makes Jones the right person “to lead our work in improving public safety for Hoosiers.”

Jones replaces Joel Thacker, who was promoted in June to be executive director of the state Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the fire marshal’s office.

Jones will officially start his new job Aug. 29.

Contact reporter Brandon at  bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at  @brandonjsmith5.

Brandon J. Smith has previously worked as a reporter and anchor for KBIA Radio in Columbia, MO. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, IL as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.