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Surfside Beach picked a current S.C. Highway patrolman to be the town鈥檚 next fire chief.

Though he鈥檚 currently patrolling the highways of Florence County, Anthony Fox is also a battalion chief for the West Florence volunteer fire department. Fox will replace Chief Dan Cimini who is retiring at the end of this month after 53 years in the firefighting field.

Cimini has led the Surfside Beach department for two years. The Surfside Beach town council gave town administrator Micki Fellner their approval of her selection of Fox following an executive session Tuesday night.

Cimini said the hiring process brought in dozens of applications for his position.

The number was whittled down by a select panel of local and state fire chiefs. As a patrolman, Fox has garnered a number of awards including South Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper of the Year in 2011.

In his position with the West Florence fire department which serves close to 25,000 Florence County residents, Fox oversees two fire stations, handles the logistics and budgets of the department and also is the media relations point man.

His background also includes a stint as an EMT in Florence and Philadelphia, Pa.

Fox said he is excited about his new opportunity to head up the Surfside Beach fire department and looks forward to continuing the progress that was made under Cimini鈥檚 watch.

Cimini said the town looked at a number of very qualified applicants and he feels Fox鈥檚 background in firefighting, law enforcement and public relations will be a good fit for the town.

Mayor Doug Samples agreed with Cimini鈥檚 assessment of the new chief but added Cimini will be greatly missed in town.

鈥淐hief Cimini has done an outstanding job as our fire chief,鈥� Samples said. 鈥淎nd I think we鈥檝e found an excellent person to fill his shoes. Mr. Fox has a background and personality that will work well in Surfside Beach.鈥�

Cimini told the town council Tuesday night that the Sept. 23 council meeting will be his last as the town鈥檚 fire chief.

He intends to stay on and help with Fox鈥檚 transition through the first week of October.

In other actions Tuesday night, the council discussed a revision of the town鈥檚 personnel manual, a part of which Councilman Randle Stevens strongly disagreed with.

Stevens said a policy in which someone who feels they are being sexually harassed and can鈥檛 record conversations about the situation will lead to lawsuits against the town.

He said in most cases sexual harassment suits come down to a 鈥渉e said, she said鈥� situation and recording the harassing conversations is the only way a victim can make a case.

鈥淪omeone should not be fired for recording a conversation,鈥� Stevens said. 鈥淵ou have no proof until you prove it.鈥�

Fellner said if someone feels they need to record such a conversation, they simply must get permission from the town administrator and if the administrator is the alleged offender, then the mayor can give permission.

She said the policy has been vetted and approved by two labor attorneys and in the last six years, she鈥檚 only heard of three harassment charges. The other six council members voted to keep the current policy as is.