Fire chief abruptly quits
Replaced by chief fired at Florence
Staff writer
For reasons not known, Marion Fire Chief Chris Killough resigned Friday.
Killough gave the department three days notice, his resignation being effective Monday.
Killough was replaced on an interim basis by former Florence Fire Chief Mark Slater, who joined Marion’s department four months ago after he was fired in Florence in 2022.
At that time Slater was fired, Florence’s department was in upheaval and the entire department ultimately was fired.
When contacted, Killough declined to comment on his resignation.
“The City of Marion and the community appreciate Chief Killough as he retires with over 20 years of service to the department,” City Administrator Brian Wells said in a statement. “His dedication, work ethic, and knowledge will be missed.”
Wells’ statement said Slater’s appointment was expected to last 30 to 45 days until a new chief was appointed on a permanent basis.
Slater said he was notified Friday of Killough’s resignation.
“I got a phone call Friday from the city administrator, who asked if I would serve as interim, and I said yes,” Slater said.
Besides being at Florence, Slater has 35 years’ experience as a firefighter at both local and state levels, he said.
Over the next 30 to 45 days, the city will work to identify a new chief, Wells said.
Past and current members of the fire department will work together to select the new chief, Wells said. His guess was that the city will begin forming the panel within a week or two.
Upheaval in the Marion fire department has gone on for several weeks.
Firefighters earlier called a meeting with Mayor Mike Powers but not Killough.
Powers did not respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday.
Wells said he had not been told the specific cause of disgruntlement among firefighters.
No other firefighters have resigned, Wells said. The fire department has 16.
The department under new leadership got off to a less-than-auspicious start Tuesday morning when members were paged for a car wreck on US-56 at 4:38 a.m. Only two responded.
Lane Duncan, 19, Augusta, fell asleep at the wheel of his 2002 Chevrolet Suburban, crossed the center line, and hit the south railing of a bridge over railroad tracks between Cedar St. and K-256.
The car hit the bridge railing hard enough to knock a chunk out of it, Undersheriff Larry Starkey said.
Duncan did not report injury.
Firefighters diverted traffic through town. One later was asked by deputy Peyton Heidebrecht to wash down the highway.
“Luckily nothing caught on fire, and I think they did use one truck to pull the car off the road so that the road was not completely blocked,” Starkey said.
Slater said he already was at work when firefighters were paged and heard a couple of trucks were needed to block traffic while the wrecked car was removed.