GOVERNMENT
Fenty Chooses Atlanta Fire Chief to Replace Thompson
Dennis L. Rubin, who hopes to begin work April 16, is a native Washingtonian. He says his goals include a program to ensure working smoke detectors through door-to-door checks of homes.
(By Melina Mara -- The Washington Post)
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Thursday, March 8, 2007
The first time Dennis L. Rubin fought a fire, he was a 19-year-old newbie in the D.C. fire department. More than three decades later, after serving in fire departments across the country, he's back in his home town, nominated as fire chief.
Rubin, 54, will leave his post as Atlanta's fire chief and plans to take over the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department on April 16. He said he is not sure what changes he will make at the agency, which was criticized last year for bungling the response to the fatal mugging of journalist David E. Rosenbaum, who was mistakenly treated as a drunk.
Rubin said he needs to study and analyze the department before he suggests changes. "I don't believe there's been a total collapse of the system," he said.
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) introduced Rubin at a news conference yesterday and also announced that Darrell Darnell, a former official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is his choice to head the city's Emergency Management Agency.
Fenty said he conducted a national search to fill both positions. The appointments require the approval of the D.C. Council. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who heads the public safety and judiciary committee, attended the session and voiced support for both nominees.
Rubin, who has headed departments in Norfolk and Dothan, Ala., has a "vast amount of experience and energy," Fenty said. Rubin also has worked in Mesa, Ariz., Fairfax County and Chesterfield, Va.
In announcing Rubin's nomination, Fenty addressed a potentially thorny issue. He is naming a white man to replace a black chief in a majority-black city. Fenty drew some criticism when he recently named Acting Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier, also white, to replace a black chief.
"We interviewed people from all different nationalities, backgrounds and regions," Fenty said. "We believe these are the best candidates. If you look at our entire Cabinet, you'll see we are committed to diversity. "
Council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5) said he would have preferred that interim Chief Brian K. Lee, a 21-year veteran, keep the job. Lee, who is black, took over in December from Adrian H. Thompson, who headed the department for four years.
"I don't want to indict someone because of their ethnicity, but I would love to have seen the acting person, who is local, move up the ranks," Thomas said.
Thomas said he hopes the new chief will look at recruiting D.C. residents to become firefighters.
On that point, Rubin said he wants to bring a program to the District that he was part of in Atlanta, in which inner-city high schoolers are brought into the department as part-time workers and taught the ropes of being a firefighter. When they graduate, they are encouraged to join the department full time.
