Starkville’s Board of Aldermen approved the hire of Charles Yarbrough as the head of the Starkville Fire Department in a 4-3 vote during last Tuesday’s BOA meeting.
​Yarbrough, formerly a Starkville Fire Department training officer, was appointed to fire chief after the board interviewed him among four other candidates vying for the position. 
​“I’ve been working toward this for the last 20 years. (My goal is to) move our department forward. We have one of the best departments in the state already, and we are going to do our best to make it one of the best in the nation,” Yarbrough told the Columbus Dispatch.
​Yarbrough told the Columbus Dispatch he wants to improve Starkville’s fire rating and bring it down to a Class 3 from its current rating of a Class 4. Yarbrough said he thinks this could be achieved within a year if city officials are willing to lend a hand.  
Lowering the fire rating will improve insurance costs for the city and commercial businesses such as Mississippi State University. 
In order to lower the fire rating, the city will have to pass numerous fire resistance tests.
Yarbrough will replace former Fire Chief Rodger Mann, who served the city of Starkville for 33 years, with the Fire Department.
Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins, ward 3 Alderman  David Little, and Ward 5 Alderman Scott Maynard opposed the decision to hire Yarbrough
 Mann announced his retirement Feb. 22, although he said he had contemplated making this move as long ago as 2010.
​Mann said he got many things accomplished during his tenure as fire chief, including lowering the fire rating from a Class 7 to a Class 4. 
​“I was able to pick up on the vision of the previous fire chief and got the fire rating lowered,” Mann said.
Mann also said he wants to move into consulting with the fire code and pursue private inspecting after retiring.
​“I think Chief Yarbrough is going to do a very good job. He is going to have some bumps in the road just like anyone else, but at the end of his tenure as fire chief I think he will look back and be satisfied,” Mann said.