Fire Marshal Rod Dowling recounted his career on Monday with the Mayor in St. Augustine Beach and said he is "not ready to retire yet." Mayor Dylan Rumrill hosted the segment, introducing Dowling and thanking him for his service.

Dowling said his family moved to St. Augustine Beach "about 1987," when he joined the local fire operation as a volunteer and "worked my way up," becoming chief in about 1989. "In 1990–91, I became the first paid firefighter for the City of St. Augustine Beach," he said. He described early operations as a single-person paid response supported by volunteers, and recalled seeing a garbage-truck worker jump off to help fight a fire.

Dowling said he left municipal service for county employment in 1996, citing that the county was growing and joking that a $3,000 pay raise motivated the move. He gave a start date of March 1, 1996, and said he is approaching his 30th year with the county and has 33 years in the fire service overall. He said his current duties as a county fire marshal include inspections, plan review and investigations.

On state oversight, Dowling noted that the Florida insurance commissioner serves as the state's chief fire marshal and that the office sets rules and regulations that local fire marshals follow.

When asked what he will do when he retires, Dowling replied, "Not ready to retire yet," and said he would like to remain in his role as long as the county and the city want him. Mayor Rumrill closed the segment by thanking Dowling "for your service" and inviting listeners to tune in next Monday.

The segment was conversational and did not include formal motions, votes or policy decisions.