Meet the New Fire Marshal

Bandera County Fire Marshall Jason Rutherford has taken charge of the safety of the county with a humble attitude and a wealth of knowledge.

Rutherford grew up in Utopia and graduated from Utopia High School. His interest in the fire service started at a young age when he went on a call out with his father to put out a car fire. After many years of going on call outs, he translated his interest into a career.

Rutherford spent the last 31 years in the Round Rock Fire Department and retired as a Suppression Captain. He served within a department of 140 firefighters across nine stations. The last ten years of his career in Round Rock, he supervised the wildfire division which had 30 personnel on the team.

Coming to Bandera where he is a “one person shop” is a big change for the soft spoken first responder. After retiring out of Round Rock, Rutherford felt he was just “too young” to give it up. After coming on board in December, he was tested within a month of taking on the Bandera job. Bandera’s first real grass fire of the

Bandera’s first real grass fire of the year occurred on January 15 off Highway 173 North. Rutherford characterized the fire as having the potential to be a “real serious situation.”

He helped place resources to assist the Medina VFD and the Bandera VFD begin battling the blaze.

A great deal of wind caused the fire to overwhelm the suppression efforts, and other local units were called in. Rutherford was widely praised for his quick response and knowledge. He in turn praised the volunteer fire departments on the scene.

“They did a great job. I was very impressed with their work ethic and performance,” he stated.

Rutherford is very familiar with wildland situations as he has extensive experience fighting this kind of fire. He recounts the numerous times he and his men in Round Rock were called to West Texas to fight large wildland fires. They had even been sent to help in California when wildfires threatened there.

Although Bandera County is much slower paced than Round Rock, Rutherford has some plans for the fire marshal’s office. He sees himself as a resource to provide for the local volunteer departments. He mentioned writing grants to get the county fire departments resources that they need. He also wants to use his connections to tap into training opportunities for Bandera County fire fighters. He has plans to work through the county doing wildfire assessments and training local departments in this area, as well.

“I am here to support the local departments, and get them what they need to succeed,” he remarked.

“I plan to do a little bit at a time to work to make Bandera a safer place. But I know, this job is a marathon, not a sprint,” he said. Rutherford has been married for 30

Rutherford has been married for 30 years to his wife, Genie, also a Bandera native. A daughter and grandchildren live in Pipe Creek, and his son is set to graduate from Bandera High School in May. “It is really my goal to become part of

“It is really my goal to become part of the Bandera community,” he said.