KING — King has a new fire chief. Less than a month after the Sept. 11 retirement of former King Fire Chief Randy Williams, King City Manager John Cater has released the name of Williams’ replacement.

On Oct. 9, Steven Roberson, a native of Stokes County, was named as the new fire chief for the city of King. Roberson has been serving as the assistant fire marshal for Forsyth County.

“I am extremely honored and humbled by the selection,” Roberson commented the day after he was named to the position.

Despite his employment in Forsyth County, Roberson has been associated with the King Fire Department on a continual basis since he was a junior firefighter in 1994. He is a third-generation firefighter with the King Fire Department, following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father.

“I literally grew up in the King Fire Department,” Roberson said.

The new fire chief is a lifelong resident of Stokes County and a graduate of South Stokes High School. His other associations with the county’s fire and rescue service include serving as a licensed paramedic with Stokes County EMS, assistant fire marshal for Stokes County and chief of the Walnut Cove Volunteer Fire Department.

“We are fortunate to find a man like Steven — a homegrown product with excellent management, firefighting and medical skills to lead our fire/rescue department — one of the best in the state,” said Cater. “With his local contacts and knowledge of the area, he will be able to hit the ground running.”

And that’s just what Roberson is planning to do. Already he is setting goals — some immediate and others more long-range. One of the long-term goals he has in mind is the lengthy process of working to lower the department’s NC fire insurance rating. This DOI rating is now a split six and nine — six inside the city and nine outside the city.

Roberson explained that it takes time to lower this rating which in turn saves homeowners money in fire insurance costs. “It’s about a three-year process,” he noted. “It takes time to prepare for inspection.”

A quicker goal that Roberson has set is to put standard operating guidelines in place for the department. He praises the employees he will be working with to accomplish this and other goals, “We’ve got a good department and a good staff,” adding that he looks forward to working with them.

Roberson is expected to begin work with the city of King on Oct. 26. His plans are to “just jump in and find out what needs to be done.” Roberson reiterates how much the selection has humbled him and how he wants to do his best for the city of King. “I plan to give the department a lot of longevity,” he said.