FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.-- A New Hampshire businessman in the fire investigation industry has been hired to run Fort Lauderdale's fire department.
James R. Eddy will start in January, running the department of about 450 employees that has been without a chief since Otis Latin left in the spring for a job in Texas.
Eddy is director of The Institute of Fire Science, a training business he founded in 2004. It is part of the larger New England Fire Cause & Origin company he started in 1993, according to the resume he supplied the city.
The Fort Lauderdale job will be Eddy's first in a department this size. Eddy's last job as fire chief ended 15 years ago. He ran the 130-member volunteer department in Swansea, Mass.
City Manager George Gretsas said he selected Eddy for his leadership style after a national search.
"He's a strong manager,'' said Gretsas. "That guy really has strong leadership skills and is the right person at the right time."
Eddy will leave his private business, Gretsas said, and "won't be running that company at the same time" as running the Fort Lauderdale fire department. Eddy starts Jan. 8 and will earn $138,111 annually.
He could not be reached for comment.
In his application, he describes New England Fire Cause & Origin Inc. as a "multi-million dollar" fire investigation business that serves insurance companies, cities, manufacturers and citizens. He still serves as chief fire analyst there, in addition to running the fire institute on site.
Gretsas said he laid out his primary concerns for Eddy: response times that are "not as good as they could or should be," an ambitious bond program to build 10 new fire stations, and the need for better financial management of the department.
Eddy began his career as a firefighter in 1969 in Gastonia, N.C., according to his resume.
He moved to Rhode Island the following year, where he rose through the ranks of the department in Barrington to deputy fire chief. He spent one year as chief for the DurhamUniversity of New Hampshire fire department in Durham, N.H. Then he landed the chief's job in Swansea, where he was chief from 1982 to 1991, according to his resume.
Until he arrives, another applicant will serve as interim chief: Gerald Simon, of Oakland, Calif.
Stephen McInerny, an internal applicant for the chief's job, will remain as an assistant fire chief, Gretsas said.
Republished with permission of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
