Fire Department names McCool as its public information officer

By Jessica Cooley in The Lufkin Daily News
The Lufkin Fire Department has named Assistant Fire Marshal Steve McCool as its public information officer. McCool has spent the last 15 years with the City of Lufkin, working his way up from a basic EMT to assistant fire marshal. While McCool will still perform his assistant fire marshal duties, as public information officer he’ll be responsible for educating the community on fire safety.

“Educating the public is really important when it comes to fire safety. Right now, we’re launching a campaign on the importance of smoke detectors — when you change the time on your clock this weekend, remember to change the batteries in your smoke detector,” McCool said. “We were recently very fortunate with a fire on Keltys Street. Had the fire occurred at 2 a.m., we could have been working a fatality. The family did not have smoke detectors.”

To remind himself of the importance of fire prevention, McCool keeps a poster taped to a file box carrying the slogan “Why work on fire prevention?” The poster displays pictures of burn victims, bringing home the concept “a picture is worth a thousand words,” McCool said.

“As PIO you’re not necessarily carrying a child out of a burning building, but you’re helping save lives in a less direct manner,” he said.

McCool’s interest in public service and career with LFD stemmed from his experience volunteering with Shepherd Volunteer Fire Department while in high school.

“I didn’t realize it could be a career until EMT school,” he said. “When I went to get my EMT there were several firefighters there. Hearing them talk about their experiences interested me. That’s what made me take that jump.”

Fifteen years later, McCool said he’s still doing what he loves.

“I can’t pick one experience in my career that has been the most rewarding,” he said. “Fire and life safety is an issue of most extreme importance. As PIO, I’m going to help promote that.”