In a brief phone interview with Henderson City Manager Frank Frazier Tuesday morning, Frazier said the process of selecting a fire chief for the Henderson Fire Department continues. He said he has a couple of interviews set up for next week and that a decision could come as early as the end of next week.
August 31 was the date that former Fire Chief Danny Wilkerson retired after 40 years of service to the department and 16 years as chief. Assistant Fire Chief Steve Cordell is serving as Interim Fire Chief during the application and selection process.
Frazier previously told WIZS News that he had “received 11 applications from human resources that (he was) reviewing. There are several internal applicants. Besides the internal applicants, most of the other applicants are not local.”
One of those 11 applications is that of Interim Fire Chief Cordell. Cordell expressed his excitement about being selected as the interim chief. He said, “I would love to be the next fire chief and to provide the leadership needed to move the department forward.”
Frazier said, “The City of Henderson Fire Department has maintained a very good record and has been actively involved in the community for many years, so we certainly want that to continue. Our department has experienced a good amount of retirement of seasoned firefighters, so it will be important for the new chief to provide leadership to insure that training and other aspects of running the fire department are passed on to the newer firefighters.”
Cordell said, if selected as chief, he would love to continue the good things going on in the department and the opportunity to carry the department successfully into the future.
The interviews for the new chief are being conducted by Frazier as well as the human resources director.