Columbia, SC (WLTX) - The City of Columbia officially has a new fire chief--of sorts, anyway.
Aubrey Jenkins has served as interim chief since March of 2010 and is now the city's first African American fire chief. Wednesday afternoon, he officially received his new rank.
"Its a wonderful place to work, excellent opportunity, and I am just appreciating the opportunity that I am getting right now," says Jenkins.
He started work straight out of high school and has been fighting fires for over 30 years. He credits his success to past fire chiefs that gave him opportunities to climb the ladder.
"You are going to run across people that you are going to have a dislike for, but you know what when you are on the fire scene you have to treat everyone the same," said Jenkins.
The new chief is thankful that his mentor, Abram Coles, who was one of the first black firemen in Columbia, will get to see him be a part of history.
"I am just grateful to fulfill what they started back in 1953," Jenkins says. "I am just grateful that I am able to fulfill his dream, here in 2011."
When he woke up this morning, there was only one thing on his mind.
"I was like 'man you got a long day.' I'm grateful, humble, and certainly don't take this lightly."
Now he's leading a department he considers home.
"This is me. I started here and when I retire this will be my last stop."
Chief Jenkins says he wants the community to know that the fire department is still a community organization and he has plans to create an adopt a fire station program to build a stronger relationship with the fire department and community.