DEKALB FIRE CHIEF
DeKalb County is seeking a new fire chief to oversee its $60 million department whose 645 firefighters handle just under 100,000 calls every year. The chief will earn up to $150,000 and is expected to have at least 15 years’ experience in the field.
Teresa Everett, fire chief in Gary, Ind., and Darnell Fullum, deputy fire chief in Fulton County, are the two finalists.
They will appear in a moderated forum to take public questions at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Maloof Auditorium, 1300 Commerce Drive, Decatur.
The two finalists to become DeKalb County’s new fire chief have dramatically different resumes.
The differences could be important to residents as the county, beset by corruption scandals, tries to right its image. The fire chief job could become critical if more cities carve themselves out of DeKalb and, as is being rumored among some small cities now, launch their own departments. Managing the transition while overseeing a department that handles nearly 100,000 calls a year will require skill.
Teresa Everett’s career has been marked by short tenures in several fire departments and 11 years working in various jobs in schools, government agencies and nonprofits. She has been chief of the Gary, Ind., department for a year, after two years holding the top job in College Park.
Darnell Fullum’s background is far more linear. He joined the Fulton County Fire Department in 1995 and gradually worked his way up to deputy chief, a job he has held since 2008.
Online news stories mentioning the two also differ sharply. Fullum mainly appears in media accounts as a spokesman for events or programs. Everett is in the middle of a very public dispute with her department's firefighters over issues ranging from aborted sick leave to docked pay.
The Gary civil service board has received 16 verified complaints against Everett, according to local news reports. She has countered with at least four verified complaints against firefighters who did not earn proper medical certification.
“DeKalb is trying so hard to get itself back together, and that means you want someone who has stability, not raises red flags about jumping around,” said Roger Cahoon, a central DeKalb resident who owns a fabric importing shop. “As a hiring manager, the one who jumps out is the one who spent years building their career.”
More than 100 people applied to replace the recently retired Eddie O’Brien, a 25-year-veteran of the department who took over the top job in 2011. Of those, a county panel interviewed seven finalists and passed along four names to interim CEO Lee May.
May selected the two finalists. He was unavailable for comment Friday but released a statement saying the process was “deliberate,” and noting the county will hold forums with firefighters and the community on Monday and Tuesday to get more input on both candidates.
“We will ultimately make a decision based on the totality of the facts gleaned from this selection process and not rely solely on past media accounts or opinions from one side or the other,” May said in the statement.
Both Everett and Fullum will get time to convince firefighters and residents of their qualifications in the public forums. Department staff will get a private session with the candidates Monday, while the public is invited Tuesday night.
Some county firefighters and County Commissioner Elaine Boyer have expressed worry about the Everett’s reputation and lack of leadership experience at a large department, at a time when DeKalb has seen a flurry of negative headlines.
The county’s CEO, Burrell Ellis, was suspended earlier this year, after being indicted on political corruption charges. The county’s former school superintendent just accepted a plea deal in the racketeering conviction of the district’s former chief operating officer and her husband.
“Some areas of concern have surfaced and we are hoping the county will hire the most qualified and trained candidate out there,” said Kevin Cavanaugh, secretary/treasurer of the DeKalb Professional Firefighters Local 1492.
DeKalb Fire Captain Tremayne McMurry said he is eager for both candidates to get a fair shot at the upcoming sessions. A member of the county’s local chapter of the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters, McMurray said he worries Everett is drawing fire simply by being a woman in a male-dominated field. Both Everett and Fullum are black.
“I want to hear what they both have to say, not what the press does,” McMurray said. “We need someone to bring together all the firefighters - black and white, men and woman - and make us one fire department for our community.”
About the Author
