Orange County Fire/Rescue Chief Otto Drozd III, who has led the department since 2012, announced he is resigning effective May 31, according to a letter he submitted to Mayor Jerry Demings.
In his letter, dated Friday, Drozd praised the department’s commitment to service, cited its six-year improvement in facilities, equipment and technology, and noted its growth, but gave no reason for stepping down.
During his tenure, the department doubled its number of paramedics.
“Despite our progress, there is still work to be done because real achievement is obtained through sustained effort,” he wrote. “While I have determined it is time to step aside, I am confident in our firefighters’ ability to continue to meet fire and emergency challenges of our community.”
Demings announced Monday that Drozd will be succeeded by Deputy Chief Jim Fitzgerald, who has 40 years of service with Orange County Fire/Rescue.
“Jim is respected, knowledgeable and cares for the well-being of the men and women in the department,” Demings said in a memo announcing the hiring. “With his appointment, I believe Chief Fitzgerald will become the first chief in Orange County’s history to have ascended to the position from the internal ranks.”
Demings also noted Drozd led the department through “a period of remarkable growth” and helped improve firefighter safety and standards.
Drozd, a Florida native, was fire chief in El Paso, Texas, when he was tabbed by then-Mayor Teresa Jacobs in 2012.
He had risen through the ranks in South Florida, becoming the chief in Hialeah before taking the Texas job.
Fluent in Spanish, Drozd was hired by Orange County after an 11-month national search.
His salary was $182,083, department spokeswoman Carrie Proudfit said. Fitzgerald’s was $146,681.
Orange County Fire/Rescue answered 124,000 calls for service in 2018, up from 122,700 in 2017, according to the department’s annual report. A call for service is defined as an incident prompting a response by a fire/rescue unit.
More than 83,000 calls were for emergency medical services.
A year after the June 12, 2016, Pulse shooting that left 49 patrons and employees of the nightclub dead, Drozd reflected on the tragedy and lessons learned in an Orlando Sentinel opinion piece.
“While the tragedy...was meant to weaken, it served to strengthen our resolve and called us to action. Our experience will help shape our nation’s and the world’s responses to these types of events, for a very simple reason – Ut Vivant Alii: so that others may live,” he wrote. “May we forever remain Orlando United.”
Orange County Fire Rescue is comprised of a dedicated team of more than 1,100 emergency responders who are supported by about 100 civilian specialists.
The county recently added two new fire houses to its 41 existing facilities — one near the University of Central Florida and another in Horizon West — to improve response times with the goals of saving lives and property, Drozd said
