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Rocky Mount Aims to Fill Fire Chief's Position This Month

Photo Courtesy Rocky Mount Telegram

Nash County

ROCKY MOUNT - Rocky Mount officials have narrowed the pool of candidates vying to replace outgoing Fire Chief Keith Harris down to four.

Harris, 50, plans to retire April 1, and city officials said they hope to fill the position by then, Rocky Mount Human Resources Director Elayne Henderson said.

After 31 years with the city and having served three years as fire chief, Harris announced his retirement from the department in December.

City officials began the search for a replacement in January, drawing about 30 applicants from around the region and from within the department.

“We certainly hope we will have selected someone before the end of the month,” Henderson said.

Harris, who is not participating in the hiring process, said he considers his Rocky Mount post one of the premier fire-protection positions in the state.

A recently acquired ISO 2 rating makes Rocky Mount one of seven fire department’s in the state with an insurance rating of two or better. Only one North Carolina fire department, Greensboro, has an ISO 1 rating.

The insurance rating increase came about a year after the fire department successfully renewed its International Fire Accreditation, a title carried by less than 150 fire departments worldwide.

“It’s a very strong department,” Harris said in a previous interview.

City officials would not say if they were hoping to hire an internal candidate, but history seems to indicate they might.

Since the fire department became a full-time, professional operation in 1929, Rocky Mount has had seven fire chiefs. Each of those chiefs was promoted from within the department.

The city advertised the fire chief position with an annual salary between $89,750 and $134,625.

If the city doesn’t name a replacement by the start of April, Assistant Fire Chief David English would assume leadership of the department, Harris said.

Harris will be honored during a retirement reception from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. March 24 at the Imperial Centre.

Primary Agency: Rocky Mount Fire Department

Source: rockymounttelegram.com

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Posted on Mon Mar 15 2010 at 17:13

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