Charleston Fire Chief Rusty Thomas has submitted a letter to Mayor Joe Riley informing the city of his intention to retire on June 27, 2009. Thomas' announcement comes almost one year after the tragic June 18 Sofa Super Store Fire where 9 Charleston Firefighters lost their lives. There have been numerous calls for the chief to step down from both internal and external critics of Chief Thomas.

The draft report from NIOSH was released last week and fire event analysis by the city hired panel of outside experts is due to be released today or tomorrow. For local coverage and more on Chief Thomas' decision: http://www.wcbd.com/midatlantic/cbd/home.html

The nationwide search to hire a new Charleston fire chief will probably begin immediately. The mayor has indicated he will be working closely with Union officials to select the very best person to help the organization recover and continue to serve the community of Charleston. Additional staffing has also been discussed we will post those details as they become available. Thanks to Firefighter Hourly for assisting Fire Engineering with this report.
posted by Bobby Halton
5/14/2008 12:56:00 PM

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