Chad Payne laughs as he talks about being inside of a burning building. But despite his jovial nature, he takes the job seriously.
"Fighting fire is always interesting. You never know what you're going to get, what you're going to see once you get inside," he said.
"It's hot, very hot and strenuous. It's a workout."
Payne finishes his first full week today as the Gainesville Fire Department's new fire marshal.
"I had my first fire within the first three days, so that's going pretty quick," he said.
"These guys have just made it awesome to jump in."
It is Payne's experience and ability to take charge that has earned him the position.
Jerome Yarbrough, former Gainesville fire marshal and now deputy chief, said Payne was chosen from a wide variety of applicants.
"We really wanted someone who could come in here with a base of knowledge on investigation, fire prevention and someone who could come in and hit the ground running," Yarbrough said.
Payne said he plans to use his position to help educate people on fire safety and prevention.
"I truly believe that prevention is a key part of the fire department, and I believe that through education and inspection we prevent a lot more fires than would normally happen," Payne said.
Payne considers himself a second generation firefighter.
He said he was inspired as a child by visiting his stepfather at work.
"I grew up climbing on fire truck ... from there it's a passion, it's just something I want to do," Payne said
Payne began his career in 1990, when he decided to join the U.S. Navy as a firefighter. He later served as a volunteer firefighter before moving to Gainesville and working as a paramedic.
Payne said one of the most interesting jobs he had was scuba diving in Lake Lanier as a public safety diver.
"On rescue type calls it's pretty cold and dark, so it's a little bit scary," he said.
Payne is a POST Certified Peace Officer, certified fire inspector and a certified fire arson investigator.
His passion though is firefighting, and he said he is honored to be Gainesville's new fire marshal.
"It's something that I've worked for ... and to finally get that position it's a big deal to me, I'm really proud to be able to serve the citizens of Gainesville," Payne said.