D.C. fire chief position holds challenges

Area official will have to adjust to larger, more politicized department if he takes job in capital

Web posted June 1, 2000

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By Mark Mathis
Staff Writer

If Ronnie Few accepts the job as fire chief of Washington, he'll have more manpower and money in his budget than fire departments in most U.S. cites.

Comparison Washington D.C. Population Serviced- Nighttime - 608,000, Daytime (includes government workers and tourists) - 1.5 million Number of employees - 1,800 Number of Engine Companies - 33 Budget for 1999 Fiscal Year - $111 million Salary for fire chief - $130,000 Richmond County Population Serviced - 415,184 Number of Employees - 320 Number of Engine Companies - 19 Budget for 1999 Fiscal Year - $13-14 million Salary for fire chief - $85,000 Sources: Augusta-Richmond County and Washington D.C. Fire Departments.

But, he would be heading a department regulated by a multi-tiered bureaucracy, one where the two previous chiefs resigned over high-profile budget disputes with city and federal oversight officials.

The Washington fire department is in the top 20 nationally in size and in the top 10 in number of calls received, according to Firehouse Magazine, a trade publication. Engine Company 10 in Washington was the busiest station in the nation last year, the publication says.

The department has 1,800 employees, 33 engine companies and a budget of $111 million this year. The department is also responsible for the city's ambulance services.

In comparison, the Augusta-Richmond County Fire Department has 320 employees, 19 engine companies and a $13-14 million budget this year.

Washington media reports have the city offering Chief Few a salary of $130,000 a year. He now makes about $85,000 annually.

Lt. Raymond Sneed, of the Washington fire department,a member of the search committee that forwarded Chief Few's name to Mayor Anthony Williams, said the move up in department size would be Chief Few's greatest challenge.

``I saw the strength in Few that I felt could be beneficial to us in this department,'' said Lt. Sneed, who is also president of the Washington firefighters union. ``The only negative thing that I saw in Few dealing with the D.C. department was the size of the department where he's coming from.

``If you're a fire chief, you're a fire chief, but then the question is can you handle the problems that's associated with the numbers.''

But Lt. Sneed said he and other city and department officials believe Chief Few could adapt his management style to the challenge.

``He appeared to me to be a firefighter first, a chief second and a manager third,'' he said. ``When you put those three together then that is what will produce a good leader in the fire service.''

Chief Few has been on the short list to become the fire chief in Washington since early May. On Friday, Chief Few confirmed in a phone interview that he had been offered the job and was hoping to make a decision by the end of this week.

Mayor Bob Young said Chief Few told him Wednesday he was still mulling it over but hoped to reach a decision soon, said Mark Gibbons, administrative assistant to the mayor.

The Washington fire department has been without a permanent chief since Donald Edwards resigned in November. The interim chief, Thomas Tippett, resigned May 5 after an argument with the Washington financial board over department funding.

Mr. Tippett was the first choice of many inside the department to become the permanent chief, Lt. Sneed said. If Chief Few takes the job, he would be only the second fire chief hired from outside the department, he said.

The funding and policy disagreements that led to the resignations of Mr. Edwards and Mr. Tippett are just a couple of examples of the politics Chief Few would deal with daily in Washington, Lt. Sneed said.

``This is one of the toughest cities politically that you can come in contact with, but I think if you are strong in your own convictions you can deal with the politics in D.C.,'' he said.

The Washington chief also has to deal with a city council, a financial control board with federal appointees, Congress and the president to get funding, but he has a strong union backing him.

``What we need is a leader to walk hand in hand with the labor organization to take it to the next level,'' Lt. Sneed said. ``That's the type of leader that we're looking for, somebody who is going to stand up for his department.The support mechanism will be there.''

The most pressing issue for the next fire chief in Washington will be policy changes recommended by a recent report that cited staffing shortages caused by budget cuts. The report pointed to the shortages as a contributing factor in the deaths of two firefighters last year.

The 241-page report by a group of mostly retired Washington firefighters and fire prevention experts said the department needs to assign five firefighters to each of the city's ladder trucks.

The two firefighters died while battling a residential fire as part of four-person ladder truck crew.

``The big problem that's haunting us is a safe work environment,'' Lt. Sneed said.

Adding a fifth man to ladder trucks has been approved by city council. The incoming fire chief now must make sure the provision is passed by Congress and ultimately signed into law by President Clinton before the next fiscal year starts in October, Lt. Sneed said.

``Going back to the candidates that we sent to the mayor, I think Chief Few is the man for the job,'' he said.

Reach Mark Mathis at (706) 823-3227 or marmathis@yahoo.com.