BARTOW, FL— A county deputy fire chief has been named interim chief of the department.
Robert Weech, deputy fire chief of logistics and special services for Polk County Fire Rescue, was tapped to lead the beleaguered department a day after Chief Tony Stravino announced he was retiring in 30 days.
Weech, 52, started at Polk County Fire Rescue in February 2017.
County Manager Jim Freeman, who is retiring in August, said incoming County Manager Bill Beasley will make a decision on a permanent hire after he leaves. Neither Weech nor Beasley, currently the deputy county manager who oversees infrastructure, could be reached for comment.
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The new chief will face challenges in the wake of a critical outside report that pointed to numerous problems in the department, including a high turnover rate in one of the fastest growing areas in the country.
County Commissioner George Lindsey said he suspects Weech will be in charge for several months before Beasley decides whether he will permanently appoint him or conduct a search.
Weech started his firefighting career at the city of Deerfield Beach in 1999 and rose through the ranks to become assistant chief of administration in 2008.
When that agency merged with other operations, Weech served as division chief of finance and was later promoted to assistant chief of operations.
Before becoming a firefighter, Weech was a certified public accountant for a large international accounting firm. He has an accounting degree from Florida State University and a master's degree in Organizational Development from Upper Iowa University.
If Weech is the permanent selection, he will likely oversee some big changes in the department. A report released by Emergency Services Consulting International showed a number of errors that occurred during the response to a Nov. 23 fire on Rockridge Road in North Lakeland that left a 76-year-old woman dead. Lorretta Pickard died speaking with a 911 operator as she waited for more than 20 minutes to be rescued.
Lindsey said during the next public meeting he plans to instruct staff to ask fire officials to begin constructing a timeline of how the county can achieve the recommendations made by the consulting group. There were recommendations from 24 key findings in the 250-page report. A number are centered around a lack of staffing.
"I want to get a realistic expectation of the accomplishments and a dollar figure on them so the Board can begin to tackle these issues," Lindsey said.
Some of the more important issues could be expensive, including offering firefighters more money, so they will stay at the department rather than leave for neighboring counties.
"We can't be this training ground for other departments," Lindsey said. "We have to be competitive."
Lindsey said the county is on the right track with plans for new fire stations and investments in other assets, such as tools and trucks.
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