By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Alabaster could start interviewing candidates for the city’s vacant fire chief position over the next few weeks after a panel of Alabama fire chiefs recommends its top five candidates for the job.

The city’s fire chief position has been vacant since longtime Fire Chief Frank Matherson retired on Nov. 1, 2012. Battalion Chief Jim Golden currently is serving as the interim fire chief.

Alabaster Mayor Marty Handlon said the city recently submitted 29 applications to a panel of five Alabama fire chiefs, and asked the panel to help narrow the list down to the top five candidates.

“The law tasks (Alabaster Personnel Director) Clark Boyd with submitting the top five candidates, but it doesn’t outline the process for how he reaches that top five,” Handlon said.

Handlon said the state fire chiefs currently are reviewing the applications, and are ranking the candidates before returning the list to Boyd.

After receiving the list from the panel of fire chiefs, the city will begin scheduling interviews with the top five candidates.

The city accepted bids for the fire chief position before Handlon and the current City Council members were sworn into office in early November 2012, but re-advertised the position in early December in an effort to draw more applicants, Handlon said previously.