According to Stephen Jones, his last stint as Lillian’s volunteer fire chief ended in 1991.

“I have a plaque from then,” he said.

However, it was not the final stint.

Jones, who has also served as a federal firefighter in Pensacola, took over the reigns as interim chief of the Lillian Volunteer Fire Department on March 28 amid a sea of personnel changes for the department. Jones said he would accept the position on a long-term basis if the firefighters vote him as the new chief.

Jones, originally from Bellview, Fla., moved to Lillian after getting married. He raised six kids in the town and has been a firefighter for more than 25 years. He started serving the town of Lillian as a volunteer firefighter in 1982. He has served as fire chief and assistant fire chief in the town.

“I’m very familiar with the community,” Jones said.

Ray Hogans resigned as the town’s fire chief on March 22. That same day, nine volunteer firefighters followed in resignation, dropping the staff size from 28 to 19.

On March 28, the fire department’s Board of Directors dismissed three firefighters, one of which was the interim fire chief, Tracy Emily.

However, the department size numbers have gone back up in recent weeks under the leadership of Jones.

“I got two new firefighters last night and another today who was someone who left and is coming back,” he said. “That brings it to 25 (firefighters). I hear that we have more coming.”

There is no way to hold the number at a specific number because it fluctuates so often, Jones said.

The board held its monthly meeting on Monday at the Lillian Community Center. All residents were invited to attend and receive an update on the department and discuss the recent changes.

When asked if the fire department was struggling with responding to calls, Jones said there was no issue.

“We’ve had two calls at the same time and the department had no problems responding. I wouldn’t lose sleep on that,” he said, noting the department is being helped by fire departments from nearby towns, including the Elberta Volunteer Fire Department, the Perdido Beach Volunteer Fire Department and the Josephine Volunteer Fire Department.

Jones will hold the position of interim fire chief for 60 days, and then the board has the option to re-elect him as permanent fire chief or extend the interim phase another 60 days.

The department is 100 percent volunteers, Jones said, and lately the members have been working long hours.

“It depends on the load. I’ve been here the last two days from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and I don’t know when I’ll be leaving today,” Jones said via telephone interview.

There is no experience required, but potential volunteers must go through a training process, Jones said.

“If you don’t have any experience, we will train you and send you to school,” he said. “We don’t allow you to do certain things until you go to school.”