Columbus Township Trustee Ben Jackson is announcing that Dave Thompson has been promoted to the chief of the Columbus Township Fire and Rescue department.

Thompson spent 13 years at the Elizabethtown Volunteer Fire Department, where he also served as chief. He has been with the Columbus Township Department for six years and acted as a captain and frequent spokesman for the department. The previous chief, Rodney Ferrenburg, resigned in February.

Jackson said that Thompson is certified as an emergency medical technician, a trained arson investigator, a Bartholomew County deputy coroner, president of the IAFF Union Local 4823 and an ASE certified instructor.

Columbus Township volunteers provide fire protection in the donut area outside of the Columbus city limits but still within Columbus Township.