Mount Airy Fire Capt. Chris Fallaw has been named assistant fire chief/fire marshal for the department, according to a statement released after 5 p.m. Thursday.

Fire Chief Zane Poindexter noted that the promotion will be effective Sept. 3. Fallaw is filling a post that has been vacant since about 2008.

A native of Union, S.C., Fallaw has 23 years of fire service experience. He started as a junior member of the Monarch Volunteer Fire Department in Union in 1989, and served there until moving to Mount Airy in 1998, where he has served in the Mount Airy Fire Department since.

He has moved up through the ranks from firefighter to fire captain, which he was appointed to in 2005.

Fallaw has an Associate of Applied Science in mechanical engineering from Spartanburg Technical Community College in South Carolina. He also holds numerous other fire service, emergency medical and hazardous materials certifications.

He resides in the Slate Mountain community with his wife of 13 years, Alicia, and two sons, McKenly and Westin. He is a member of Flat Rock Baptist Church, where he has served on the Deacon Board, is an active member and past master of the Renfro Masonic Lodge, a city of Mount Airy Honor Guard member and a past volunteer firefighter with the Four Way Volunteer Fire Department.

Poindexter said that Fallaw will primarily oversee the fire department’s code enforcement and fire investigations as well as serving as the city’s fire marshal.

In an article earlier this week, Poindexter said this post will be a Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. role. The salary for the job is in the $40,000 range.

But the fire chief said the personnel move will not require an extra expenditure.

“It’s been a position we’ve had in the budget — we just haven’t filled it,” Poindexter explained.