After half a century of service, Frederick County's top fire and rescue official is stepping down.
Chief Tom Owens never had to question what he would spend his life doing.
"I come from a fire service family, so my career path was pretty much determined at a very young age," Owens explained.
At 16 years old, Owens became a volunteer firefighter in Sterling, Virginia and that set the path for his entire 50-year career.
On Thursday, Owens announced that career would come to a close.
"50 years in the fire service is enough for two people, so it is time for me to move out. You get to a point where your level of professional fulfillment reaches one where you say 'it's just time." Owens announced his retirement alongside County Executive Jan Gardner, and she used the announcement to highlight some of the most significant changes Owens enacted in his four-year tenure as chief of the county Fire and Rescue Services Division.