LANDIS — Landis town officials opted to revert to a dual form of public safety administration for police and fire and have hired a new fire chief.

Jason Smith has been on the job for about a week and a half. He brings more than two decades of firefighting experience to the table.

Smith hails from northeastern Tennessee, where he gained experience at the Hampton Valley Forge Volunteer Fire Department. His volunteer work continued in Avery County (North Carolina) before returning to Stony Creek Volunteer Fire Department in Elizabethton, Tennessee.

He got a job with the fire department in Concord in 2008 and moved to the Piedmont region. There he climbed the ladder to senior firefighter, lieutenant and then captain before ultimately becoming an assistant fire marshal.

“I’ve had my hands in pretty much everything,” Smith said.

In addition to his experience, Smith has various degrees related to his field, with two associate’s degrees in fire protection technology and fire science, as well as a bachelor’s degree in fire administration.

In his first few days on the job, Smith has already been run through the gauntlet. Landis was among many cities in southern Rowan County to be rocked by severe thunderstorms on Monday.

“It started off as a quiet day,” Smith said. “About five o’ clock, the winds picked up, and we had a pretty significant storm. We had our engine company out with a lot of tree removal and downed power lines. We had an incident at the pool with a lightning strike. Thankfully, I had a really good group out there that went out there and did what needed to be done.”

Smith will lead a department that currently has eight full-time firefighters and some who serve as volunteers.

“We have a lot of dedicated firefighters who have been here a lot of years and have stuck through good and bad,” Smith said. “We have a lot of new people dedicated to professionalism and the community. It’s a diverse group.”

With the former interim public safety director, Kevin Young, stepping back to just handle the Landis Police Department, Smith is looking forward to sustaining the relationship between the two agencies.

Town Manager Michael Ambrose said the Landis Board of Aldermen’s decision to split the role was made out of practicality.

While the joint position was good in theory, Ambrose said that in practice, it did not play out that way.

Smith agreed.

“I couldn’t run the police department,” Smith said. “The police chief shouldn’t be expected to run the fire department.”

One moment that stands out to Smith from his previous experience was a relationship he developed with a veteran at one of his first fire hall stints.

“We had a gentleman we would visit often for a medical issue,” Smith said. “We became pretty close with him. He was a veteran, and he liked to tell us stories. After he passed away, he had such a relationship with us that his wife made us honorary pallbearers at his funeral, and we got to share that moment with his family.”

Smith said he looks forward to forming those close-knit relationships in his new role for Landis.

In addition to his role as fire chief, Smith will also be the Landis Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) coordinator.