When Atlanta Fire Chief Joel Baker retires Thursday, the department’s second in command and head of operations will temporarily take the helm.
First Deputy Chief Randall Slaughter will serve as interim fire chief. Slaughter, a graduate of the Atlanta Public Schools system, said he was “honored and humbled” that Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms “placed her trust” in him for the position.
When Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport lost power after a fire in December, Slaughter took over from the airport's fire chief as head of the incident command center.
“In my 28 years, I’ve never seen a fire this intense down in a tunnel area,” he said at the time.
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Slaughter will take the reins from Baker, who joined Atlanta fire in 1988 after spending two years with the East Point Fire Department. He was named interim chief in 2009, and then again named interim chief in January 2015 before becoming chief later that year.
“As a child who was born in Grady Homes housing projects, raised in the Peoplestown community, and a proud graduate of the Atlanta Public School system, serving the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department for more than 30 years has been a privilege,” Baker said in a statement. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Georgia State University and a master’s degree from Columbus State University.
In April 2017, Baker and other first responders to the I-85 bridge collapse met with President Donald Trump at the White House. Baker thanked Trump for "recognizing public safety members."
Atlanta Fire Rescue Department, which serves 132 square miles in Atlanta, is Georgia’s largest fire department. It operates with 35 fire stations and more than 1,000 sworn and civilian employees.
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Watch: Interview with Deputy Chief Randall Slaughter
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