When Steve Davis was a kid, he and his buddies would play firefighters, racing to fake calls on their bicycles while making siren sounds so realistic some people were fooled.
On Wednesday, the 42-year-old Waunakee resident was introduced as Madison's new fire chief at the station where he worked for more than a decade before becoming a division chief last year. "It's everything I ever wanted to do," he said, his voice choked with emotion.
With the jacket bearing his name hanging from a fire truck behind him, and his boots and hat stacked with other gear at his feet, Davis acknowledged the department's rank and file: "I care the most about these people who are out there every single day laying it on the line. They don't always get appreciated."
A 22-year veteran of the department, Davis succeeds Debra Amesqua, Madison's first female fire chief whose retirement was effective Tuesday. He was chosen over four other finalists from within the department, narrowed from a pool of nine internal applicants, then pared to two: Davis and Assistant Chief James Keiken, who remains second in command, said Craig Yapp, president of the Police and Fire Commission.
Other finalists were Capt. Lance Langer, Lt. David Forrest Peterson and Division Chief Michael Popovich, who is in line to become an assistant chief.
The early frontrunner after interviews with the five finalists, Davis "had some innovative ideas," Yapp said. "He's very knowledgeable. He's well liked by the members of the rank and file."
"I've supported the labor movement for the past 22 years and was a supporter of the labor movement this spring," Davis said, referring to the massive protests, in which firefighters played a major role, against Gov. Scott Walker's move to eliminate most collective bargaining rights for most public employees.
Davis joined the department in August 1989, working at Station 10 on the North Side with "an older crew that taught me right from wrong" and "what it took to be a firefighter."
"That's quite honestly where I thought I'd probably retire," said Davis, who later worked as a paramedic before becoming a lieutenant. "I remember those long, hard days on the ambulance and realize it takes patience to work with all those patients."
Unlike Amesqua, who came from Florida amid controversy and questions about her qualifications, Davis is taking the helm at a time of stability and strength in the department, for which Amesqua is now credited.
"Things are running really smooth," Davis said.
His top priority, he said, is "to maintain the culture and development within the organization," including the department's diversity.
"My door is always open," he said. "Just call me up, come on down. We'll have a cup of coffee and work things out."
Copyright 2012 - The Wisconsin State Journal
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
