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David Williams Jr., who officially
became the full-time chief of the Wake
Forest Fire Department on July 1 of
2005, will step down sometime this year
when the board of directors chooses a
new chief.
The mutual decision by
Williams and the directors was made
Tuesday, Dec. 27, based on Williams’
burden of work at the department and his
business, Williams Custom Building.
In a letter announcing the
decision, board President Thomas Walters
said the directors “greatly appreciate
the work of Chief Williams and the
dedication that he has shown the
department as he assumed the duties of
fire chief after Chief Jimmy Keith’s
death.”
Williams will remain in an
unspecified leadership position in the
department. “If at any time during this
transition, Chief Williams decides that
his obligations will allow him to stay
as our chief, the board will work to
accommodate his request,” Walters said.
Calling his decision a hard
one, Williams wrote that it will be best
for the department, his businesses and
his family.
Williams, 29, was named interim chief
shortly after Keith’s death in 2004.
Keith was the department’s first
full-time paid chief.
Williams has almost a
life-long association with the
department, beginning at age 8 when he
helped with the fund-raising fish fries.
He joined the junior firefighters’
program when he was 16.
In his letter, Williams
listed the department’s recent
accomplishments. It now has 70-plus paid
and volunteer firefighters manning two
stations, Station #1 on Elm Avenue and
Station #2 on Ligon Mill Road.
The accomplishments include:
-hiring three firefighters
for Station #2 at the beginning of 2005
and currently interviewing another three
for the same station to bring the
station to minimum staffing.
-ordering a 95-foot
mid-mount platform aerial truck that
will be delivered this June. The
department will ask for additional
funding to add six personnel to staff
the truck.
-ordering a pumper/tanker
that will be delivered in March to
replace a 1980 model engine.
-planning a third station
for the west side of town that will open
at the beginning of 2008. One of the
conditions when the town board rezoned
the Parker-Hannifin site on Wake Union
Church Road last August was that
developer Jim Adams and his Millridge
Company set aside 2 to 2.5 acres for the
fire station. The fire department is
asking Wake County to share in the
construction cost. The department is
seeking a site for a fourth fire station
to open in 2012, this one on the east
side of town.
-developing duty crew and duty chief
programs to reduce response times.
-hiring an administrative assistant to
organize files, manage employee benefits
and oversee ordering and payables.
-beginning a long-range plan
which addresses personnel, equipment
replacement and additions, new stations
and future personnel needs.
-negotiating a $30,000
budget increase from Wake County for
this year. The county will also pay to
replace 17 sets of firefighters’ gear.
-improving the computer
system to handle purchase orders, a web
site and an e-mail system.
“I will miss serving as the
fire chief in the community, which I
love and [which] has supported me
through this endeavor,” Williams wrote.
“However, I look forward to serving in
another leadership role within the
department and continuing to serve this
wonderful community.”
You can find more
information about the fire department at
its web site,http://www.wakeforestfire.com. |
