Ten applicants, including five Starkville firefighters, are vying to become the city’s next fire chief, Personnel Director Randy Boyd confirmed Wednesday.
Boyd confirmed the five internal SFD candidates include Fire Marshal Stein McMullen, Battalion Chief Curtis Randle, Capt. Andy Sharp, Firefighter Heath Vaughn and Training Officer Charles Yarbrough.
Starkville’s human resources department also released the names of the external candidates – Jimmy N. Austin, Michael R. Chandler, Christopher D. Gale, Keith G. Juneau and Terry J. Tucker – near the close of business hours but provided little information about each person.
Of the five external candidates, three are currently working for fire departments in north Mississippi, and two are out-of-state applicants, Boyd said in an email.
A Mike Chandler is listed as Columbus Fire and Rescue’s accreditation manager, but his contact information was not readily available by press time.
Aldermen have yet to review applicants’ qualifications in an effort to determine a finalist pool, but interviews are expected to be held during the March 17 board meeting.
Former Chief Rodger Mann retired at the end of February, ending a 33-year career with the city.
McMullen, 40, previously confirmed his interest in the job to The Dispatch. He joined SFD as a firefighter in 1996 and later was promoted to fire inspector. In 2005, he was promoted to one of the city’s two fire marshal positions.
Randle, a 25-year veteran of SFD, serves as one of the department’s three battalion chiefs. He did not return a phone call Wednesday.
Sharp, 60, joined SFD as a firefighter in 1990. He has worked through the ranks since then, earning promotions to sergeant, lieutenant and captain. Sharp has also served as an acting battalion chief off and on for about a year.
A call to Vaughn for background information went unreturned Wednesday, but the firefighter has served the city for about 15 years.
Yarbrough, who turns 43 on Friday, joined the department as a firefighter in 1995. He was promoted to sergeant and lieutenant shortly after but decided to pursue an administrative career through training and educational efforts. He was named training officer in 2008.
“(SFD’s ability to produce a large number of internal candidates) is a testament to the city itself because our leaders have provided a lot of educational opportunities. We’ve been sending our guys to the National Fire Academy for years, and it is returning dividends,” Mann said. “There are some very strong candidates right now in our department. The neat thing is that in five years, there’s going to be another big wave of strong candidates looking to rise through the ranks. The educational investment Starkville is making is paying off in a big way.”
Aldermen appointed Fire Marshal Mark McCurdy to serve as the department’s temporary chief after a failed attempt by Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins to name Randle interim drew allusions toward a racial bias against Randle.
McCurdy is white. Randle is black.
The 4-3 votes to deny Randle’s appointment and pick McCurdy went down racial lines in both instances.
Perkins never specifically accused the four aldermen of racism, but his comments insinuated McCurdy was promoted because “of who he is, not his experience.”
Aldermen previously said they would not hire the interim to serve on a permanent basis. At the time, both McCurdy and Randle said they would not seek the job as interim, but Randle later confirmed to The Dispatch he was still mulling options.
Mann stumped for both men – Randle and McCurdy would both perform well as interims, he said.
But Randle’s promotion, Mann said, would have technically left the city with one battalion chief in his original position as another was granted extended leave.
McCurdy’s promotion, however, would not have required any other internal moves. While McMullen’s job functions would have increased, Mann said he was capable of the additional load on a temporary basis.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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