Fire district makes new hires

Holley-Navarre Fire District Fire Chief Ron Norton spent most of December reviewing applications to fill positions within the department.

Two current firefighters are going through an extensive assessment before Norton decides who will be promoted to battalion chief.

The Department lost a lieutenant last month and promoted in-house firefighter Tim Griffiths to fill the position, which left an opening for a firefighter.

“I’ve received 28 applications from all over,” Norton said about the available firefighter position. He received applications from Miami to Illinois. The available position was advertised through Monster Jobs.

After evaluating all the applications, Norton hired Matthew Housam. Housam was working part time for Escambia County Fire-Rescue and graduated from the Midway Fire Academy in 2010.

The department's administrative assistant Kathy Groh recently retired leaving another opening in the department.

For more on this story, see the Jan. 5 issue of Navarre Press, or subscribe online.