July 26--Frederick County's new fire chief was thinking of dressing up to attend her first volunteer fire and rescue association meeting.
She ended up wearing her Harley-Davidson T-shirt and a pair of cutoff shorts.
"I came as myself," said Denise Pouget, who was sworn in Thursday as the county's first chief over a unified fire and rescue system.
As she steps into a role that comes with weighty responsibilities and big expectations, Pouget hopes her down-to-earth style will show the service that she can be taken at face value and trusted as a leader.
During her first week on the job, she has spent time gathering input from people across the service and making sure her phone number is widely available. At her swearing-in ceremony, she brought no notes with her, saying she preferred to make her comments brief and "from the heart."
She asked her colleagues for their support as she prepares to usher the service into a new era.
The county commissioners have handed Pouget the task of achieving greater cohesiveness between volunteer and career personnel and putting the division of fire and rescue services on course to meet the needs of a growing county.
"I want to lead us to be the best combination fire service in the nation. We can do it," she told an audience of about 200 in the first-floor meeting room at Winchester Hall.
Commissioners President Blaine Young, who spoke at the swearing-in ceremony, said he was already impressed with Pouget and had full confidence in her ability.
"As we go forward today, I ask everyone to keep an open mind and work with Chief Denise Pouget," he said. "She is the future."
County officials sifted through 52 applications for the post of director of fire and rescue services, but Young said within 10 minutes of meeting Pouget, he knew she was the right person for the job.
Pouget, of Alexandria, Va., had worked as assistant fire chief in the Alexandria Fire Department since 2008. Before joining the Virginia department, she spent 27 years serving with the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, where she worked in roles including firefighter paramedic, public information officer, operational supervisor for emergency communications, battalion chief and shift chief in charge of operations. She also worked as assistant fire chief of health and safety in Montgomery County and was named safety officer of the year by the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
Accompanied by two family members at Thursday's swearing-in ceremony, Pouget vowed to uphold the law and diligently carry our her role as Frederick County's division director.
Even before she took office, Pouget orchestrated a reorganization in the upper ranks of the fire and rescue division, eliminating a position and creating two new deputy posts.
Her first official act after being sworn in was to administer the oath of office to the two men she handpicked for those positions. She praised Max Allen Keyser, who was appointed the deputy chief of operations, and Michael Grierson, chosen for deputy chief of finance and logistics, for their depth of knowledge and dedication.
Commissioners in January granted additional authority to the position now occupied by Pouget. They continued their changes to emergency services this year by overhauling the way the system is funded.
On Thursday, commissioners approved the charter and bylaws for a new 14-member fire and rescue advisory board that will advise the county fire chief and the commissioners.
The commissioners also appointed the board's nine voting members, including five fire and rescue volunteer representatives, two career firefighter and paramedic representatives and two citizen representatives.
Follow Bethany Rodgers on Twitter: @BethRodgersFNP.
Copyright 2013 - The Frederick News-Post, Md.
