After 44 years in fire service, Alan J. Martin is stepping away.
Martin, 65, is retiring as chief of the Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Service on Jan. 19.
That day, a retirement reception for him is set to be held from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Tuscaloosa Fire Station No. 1 at the intersection of Greensboro Avenue and 15th Street.
"I've been in the business quite a while now," he said. "It's hard on your family for that many years."
"It's just time for me to start doing something else and spending more time with my family and allow my wife to get a little bit of a break from all of this, as well."
Along the way, Martin was chosen over career fire chiefs from 10 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico as the 2013 Fire Chief of the Year by both the Alabama Association of Fire Chiefs and the Southeastern Association of Fire Chiefs.
“This is unprecedented and speaks very highly of Chief Martin,” said Bessemer Fire Chief Paul Syx, a longtime friend and colleague, at the time.
Martin was named Tuscaloosa’s fire chief in 2002 after serving for 28 years with the Birmingham Fire Department.
“Chief Martin has dedicated his entire professional career to the fire and rescue service, and Tuscaloosa has been fortunate that he has led our department during some of our most challenging times," Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox said Thursday. "I have enjoyed working with him the past 12 years, and have admired his pursuit to achieve our standard of excellence. Our City is truly better because of Alan’s service.”
Since he was appointed, Martin has pushed for several measures to modernize the way the department operates.
Much of that included the restructuring the department and its units, upgrading equipment — including radio systems and thermal imaging cameras — and he increased the amount and quality of training, securing millions of dollars in grants for the department.
Martin also has established several programs that focus on educating and protecting the public.
In 2006, Martin used grant money to establish the “Get Alarmed! Tuscaloosa” program, which allowed firefighters to install free smoke detectors at residences in Tuscaloosa, with a target of reaching homes in high-risk communities occupied by older adults and children.
He established a safety education program that targets youth and the elderly in the more high-risk neighborhoods and a home fire sprinkler advocacy program that educates firefighters, insurance agents, homebuilders, Realtors and citizens on the benefits of installing home sprinklers.
Martin has coordinated efforts with the University of Alabama and Tuscaloosa City Schools to implement programs beneficial to students and the community.
In 2012, the city Board of Education finalized agreements with the city of Tuscaloosa and the Alabama Fire College to establish the Tuscaloosa City Schools’ Emergency and Fire Management, a program sought by Martin to that teaches high school students how to become firefighters.
In 2016, the University of Alabama School of Social Work and the city of Tuscaloosa partnered on an EMS Prevention Program to help residents identify and use the proper community resources while reducing the frequency of non-emergency calls to 911.
Of the estimated 11,000 to 12,000 medical calls into 911 each year, at least 25 percent of those are considered low-level emergencies, such as toothaches or sinus infections, and it’s not uncommon for these calls to come from those who don’t have easy access to primary care.
The EMS Prevention Program was an expansion of the Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Service’s efforts in 2014 to address these calls with its own program, which resulted in a reduction of non-emergency calls by about 50 percent. That year, the fire department also rolled out an alternative response unit, an SUV staffed by one firefighter-paramedic who responds to calls that aren’t life-threatening.
This also serves to free up fire crews for critical calls, such as fires and cardiac arrests.
And on Thursday, he was part of the official announcement of the Appropriate Care and Treatment in Our Neighborhoods (ACTION) program, a partnership between the city and the UA Medical Center to deliver in-home healthcare to those who call 911 with certain non-emergency or non-life threatening conditions.
However, he's hesitant to take sole credit for any of the additions made or accomplishments achieved by the fire department since his arrival.
"Certainly, there's not been any contribution that's been made that's been just me," Martin said. "Anything we've been able to accomplish here in Tuscaloosa during my tenure has been because of all of us — my family, my support from the mayor and council (and) the actual putting into action from the firefighters who work here."
Beyond Tuscaloosa, Martin was the driving force behind a new statewide fire prevention campaign designed to combat the high number of fire fatalities that have occurring in Alabama in 2014.
As part of the “Turn Your Attention to Fire Prevention” campaign, fire departments across the state coordinated fire prevention messages to the communities they serve by working to change the behaviors that lead to accidental fires.
But he is committed to more than just saving lives.
Martin also has been an active proponent of assisting those inside and outside the local community who have autism, and Tuscaloosa firefighters have been trained on how to recognize and assist people with autism spectrum disorders. He also served on or assisted several other community and professional organizations.
On Thursday, he said he would aid in any way he was needed in choosing his successor, though he was doubtful that the mayor would need it.
Still, he had some thoughts to pass on to whoever is chosen to succeed him.
"My advice to anyone coming into this role is be forward-leaning. The fire service is changing and the fire service has changed dramatically the 44 years I’ve been doing this," Martin said. "Tuscaloosa city and the Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Service is well-positioned to move forward with the changes that are going to be coming — the reductions in funding, the change in the way we deliver our services ... all those things are changes that are going to be coming, and the next person who takes this job is going to have to be prepared to deal with all that."
Reach Jason Morton at jason.morton@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0200.