To a standing-room-only crowd, Fire Marshal Stacy Singleton said farewell to the city he served for four decades. Current and former elected officials and city staff that have worked with Fire Marshal Singleton shared their sincere appreciation, stories and laughter during his retirement ceremony at Burleson City Hall on September 28, 2022.
Stacy is known in the Burleson community not only for his passion for safety, but also for his legendary humor. Stacy has completed his service as one of the region's most respected public safety and emergency management experts.
"Stacy's belief is strong, his accountability is impeccable and his word is rock solid," stated Mayor Chris Fletcher during the retirement ceremony. "I can't say enough how much I appreciate Stacy and all the things he has done for this community and all the kids he has influenced."
Burleson Fire Chief K.T. Freeman shared that Stacy had a key role in making Burleson a safer community. His leadership in updating the city's fire codes, involvement with community risk reduction programs and countless school visits throughout the years have had a lasting impact on the city.
"Stacy is our home-grown social media phenom," stated Chief Freeman. "But most importantly, he has had a significant impact in saving lives in our community and making it a safer place to live."
In 1991, Stacy became the city's interim fire marshal and was appointed full-time in 1992. A position he has continually served, protecting our city for the last 30 years.
But, Stacy's service career in the Burleson community began in the early 1980s when he became a volunteer firefighter and a Burleson reserved police officer.
At a very young age, Stacy desired to be part of this community in the fire capacity as he would often ride his bike to follow where the fire trucks were going and watch the firefighters work whatever scene they were called to.
During Stacy's remarks at the ceremony, he credited former Burleson police officer Rick Irwin, who was in attendance, for being an influence on his career path.
"I would go to the football games, not to watch the games but to see what the cop running security was doing," stated Stacy. "I wanted to be like him, and I never wanted to turn away kids who were interested in the profession and wanted to learn more."
Stacy thanked the crowd who came to wish him well and all the people he had the honor to serve with.
"This is a bittersweet day," stated Stacy. "I couldn't have done it without my family. My lovely wife Janet and my son Tanner had to sacrifice so much for my career over the years. There would be times when we would be out, like at a Texas Rangers game, and we would have to come home because I had to work a fire."
Of course, the crowd also had some great laughs, many coming from Johnson County Special Crimes Unit Commander Larry Sparks, who has worked with Stacy for 23 years.
"This is Mr. Burleson," said Larry. "If you don't know Stacy, you aren't from here, or you haven't been here very long."
Larry continued to share tidbits of stories from their 23-year friendship.
"Every time I would make a traffic stop, they would ask if I knew Stacy Singleton," joked Larry. "Eventually, I would tell them I did."
Larry also joked that Stacy had confiscated more fireworks than all the Burleson police officers put together, but the kids still love him.
The retirement ceremony was led by Stacy's son, Tanner Singleton, who followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Burleson Fire Department six years ago. During the ceremony, Stacy was given various gifts to commemorate his service, including a golden axe, fire helmets, his duty weapon, an honor guard plaque and a flag.
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