Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Ledbetter: Public Servant
FIRE MARSHAL STARTED IN 1973
FARMINGTON — Dennis Ledbetter, Washington County fire marshal, started young as a public servant.
He was a crossing guard for his school when he was about 8 years old.
Ledbetter displays the badges he’s received throughout his career in a shadow box. The one he points to first is his favorite badge, his crossing guard badge.
“I saved my money and bought a smaller version of the badge,” Ledbetter said. “I had to have that.”
When t he end of December comes around, Ledbetter, who lives in Farmington, will have served 40 years as a public servant, mostly with the city of Fayetteville.
He started his career in 1973 as a firefighter with the Fayetteville Fire Department. He was promoted up the ranks at Fayetteville, and over the years, his titles included lieutenant, inspector with the fire prevention bureau, training officer, interim fire chief for eight months and 25 years as the Fayetteville fire marshal.
Ledbetter retired from public service and worked for a short time as a civilian fire investigator with the Fayetteville fire marshal.
When the county fire marshal position became available, Ledbetter applied for the job. He has worked in that position for three years.
Ledbetter’s shadow box displays nine badges to represent his positions over the years.
He will have 10 badges when he adds the county fire marshal badge to the display box.
He also has a key to the city of Fayetteville and pins for working with the Secret Service on three presidential details: twice for former President Bill Clinton and once for former President George H. W. Bush.
The county fire marshal falls under the Washington County Sheriff ’s Office and is a part of the criminal investigative division.
Ledbetter only has one assistant fire marshal, Tyler McCarty, but he also receives help from the sheriff ’s deputies and investigators.
Three Responsibilities
Most people probably think the fire marshal’s only job is to investigate fires. But Ledbetter said the office actually has three
“The million dollar house at one end of town and the hut or shack at the other end of town, they both deserve your best.”
Dennis Ledbetter
Washington County fire marshal
responsibilities.
“There’s more to it than just investigating a fire,” Ledbetter said.
His office works with the county Planning Department on new construction and making sure new businesses meet fire codes and have access for fire apparatus and an adequate water supply.
Secondly, Ledbetter and McCarty conduct fire inspections of daycares and schools in the county and sponsor fire prevention programs.
The third responsibility, of course, is to investigate the cause of fires.
When he divides up his hours in the three areas, Ledbetter said each responsibility takes up about a third of his time.
His 2012 annual report gives an idea of the diversity of the off ice: 86 inspections, 16 reviews of technical plats, two fire protection plans, 20 meetings, 102 fires, mutiple training sessions, 1,600 kids going through the fire safety trailer, numerous public education programs and a number of miscellaneous items, such as investigating complaints out in the county.
Ledbetter started one of his programs 25 years ago with the Fayetteville Fire Department. The Youth Intervention Task Force is a program to help children or teenagers who are fascinated with fire.
“Some kids do this and it’s a release for them,” Ledbetter said. “You have one child who has a problem with fire and if you can help them, that’s a good value. This is to help a child and a family because a kid will burn a house down.”
When it comes to investigating a fire, Ledbetter said guidelines are becoming more stringent for determining the cause of the fire. He has four choices when determining a cause: an act of God, such as lightning, accidental, incendiary or undetermined.
“I have to go in totally unbiased,” Ledbetter said. “The investigation dictates where it will go.”
In the past, if it was determined that a fire started in a television set, Ledbetter said he could take the TV apart to determine exactly where the fire started.
Now, he said, he cannot touch the TV until all interested parties have a chance to look at it.
“I just want to know the TV did it and I’m good to go,” Ledbetter said. “But for them, it’s all about who pays.”
Now, he said, “Everyone has equal rights. We all show up at once. I’ve had as many as 12-14 people at a fire scene, looking at something.”
Another factor in fire investigations is waiting on the Arkansas Crime Lab. The turnaround for the Crime Lab can be three to six months.
“A lot of times, you can put all those hours in and nothing ever happens,” Ledbetter said.
At the same time, he said he never gives up on investigating a fire.
“My biggest thing is that I just want to be right,” he said.
Favorite Part Of Job
The best part of his job, Ledbetter said, is the people and helping others.
“The million dollar house at one end of town and the hut or shack at the other end of town, they both deserve your best. You have good people, good working people, and you get to help them a little bit.”
The hardest part of the job is covering an area as big as Washington County.
In Fayetteville, he said he would only be 15- 20 minutes away from a site. As the county’s fire marshal, he said he has to make sure he has everything he needs in his vehicle.
“In some areas of the county, there’s a long response time and there’s not much left when you get there.”
Most of the fires he investigates are accidental. A lot of houses in the county are older and use wood stoves, he said.
Ledbetter doesn’t know when he will retire as county fire marshal but admits he’s slowing down as he grows older.
When he was younger, he said he could be up all night on a fire and then go all the next day.
“Now, it’s harder,” said.
Overall, though, it’s been good, he said.
“It’s been a good career. It’s had its ups and downs but I can’t gripe.”
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