Former Irmo Chief Fire Marshal Jeff Allen has announced he is running for Irmo Town Council.
“I have served the Irmo community for decades,” Allen said. “I am asking for your vote so that I can continue to serve the great Irmo area.”
Originally from Ontario, Canada, with Toronto being his hometown, Allen has been married to Debbie, a Niagara Falls area native for the past 47 years. They have two daughters, Shannon, who lives in the Greenville area and Joanne who lives in the Irmo-St. Andrews area. Both daughters are graduates of Irmo High School and Midlands Technical College. Jeff and Debbie have two grandchildren; 11 year old Lilly and 7-year-old Tobie. Debbie retired from Richland County EMS as a Sergeant Paramedic.
His career began in the corporate world in the early 1970s in senior management working with an international manufacturing company managing the marketing and customer service departments. In 1991, he came to Irmo when asked to lend his marketing skills to a family business that had relocated to the Irmo area.
In 1994 while visiting the Irmo Fire District, he was asked if he would be interested in joining the department. After 23 years of service, Allen retired from the Chief Fire Marshal position and moved on to the Criminal Investigation Division of the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. He finished up 16 years of law enforcement duties with three years as a police officer with the Midlands Technical College Police Department, serving mainly at the Harbison campus.
“I believe the main focus of any government agency with elected officials is to keep the residents safe so I am a major supporter of police, fire and EMS services,” Allen said. “Honesty, transparency and listening to the residents are the most important characteristics for any elected official as well.”
Allen served as a Commissioner with the Irmo Okra Strut for several years and is a graduate of Leadership Lexington County in 2012.
