City hires new fire chief

The city of Cairo will have a new fire chief beginning Monday when Jim T. Fielding takes over.
Cairo City Manager Chris Addleton announced Monday he has hired Fielding to take the place of Don Towne, who resigned to take a job in Barrow County, Ga.
“I look forward to working with Chief Fielding as he leads our fire department and instills our city values of commitment, integrity, teamwork and excellence,” City Manager Addleton said.
He added, “Jim brings to the fire department a vast amount of fire service experience as well as a leadership style that exemplifies a professional and collaborative spirit.”
Fielding is a resident of Valdosta and served as the county fire chief of Lowndes County from August 2000 until June 2008.
As the Lowndes County chief he supervised the daily operations of 17 fire stations and 14 full-time and 198 volunteer firemen. During his tenure, the ISO rating for the county improved from a Class 9 to a Class 5.
Prior to his work in Lowndes County, he was employed by Moultrie Technical College from July 1998 to August 2000 as a fire service coordinator. At Moultrie Tech, he developed the fire science curriculum and taught fire science classes.
He also has served as the fire chief at the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany from May 1983 until January 1998.
Chief Fielding began his fire service career as a firefighter in May 1968.
He holds an AS degree in Fire Science from Chattahoochee Valley Community College in Phenix City, Ala.