Bradley County Mayor D. Gary Davis has appointed Bradley County EMA Director Troy Spence as interim chief for Bradley County Fire and Rescue. The appointment follows the resignation of Chief Dewey Woody who announced his decision on Oct. 15 to accept a position with the State Fire Marshall’s Office.
Mr. Spence will serve as both EMA director and interim BCFR chief until the position is filled permanently.
County Mayor Davis made the announcement Tuesday evening during a meeting with paid and volunteer firefighters.
In making the appointment, County Mayor Davis pointed to Mr. Spence’s more than 20 years experience with BFCR before moving to the Bradley County Emergency Management Agency. “He has demonstrated outstanding leadership and organization skills, especially during the April storms
of 2011. Those skills will be useful during this transition. Troy is fully capable of overseeing both departments until a full time Chief is hired,” the county mayor said.
He continued; “We have a very capable and well trained fire department and I am confident that under Troy’s leadership there will be no disruption in fire protection for Bradley County residents. We have transitioned from a completely volunteer department to a “combination” department with a paid staff of 42.” My desire is that the BCFR not miss a beat as we continue moving forward.”
County Mayor Davis outlined what the future of the department will look like by saying; “Over the next six months Bradley County will build three additional fire stations and hire and train an additional 24 firefighters to staff them. As the expansion continues, our approximately 75 trained volunteers will be a very important component in the County’s combination department.”
Bradley County now has 10 fire halls and by April, 2013 the BCFR will have grown to five fully staffed stations operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Currently, more than $2 million in new equipment is on order by BCFR. The county mayor said this is an indication of his, and the BCFR’s "commitment to provide the best fire protection possible for the citizens of Bradley County."