56 apply for job as Little Rock continues fire chief search

November hiring city’s goal

A North Pole fire chief, a military consultant working in Saudi Arabia, a Little Rock Walmart freight employee, a Mississippi police officer, and dozens of firefighters and chiefs from departments all over the United States are among the 56 men who applied to lead the Little Rock Fire Department.

The city's Human Resources Department will send all applications that meet the minimum qualifications to City Manager Bruce Moore for review.

Moore will select who he wants to interview and then select finalists from that group by the end of October. He plans to hire a new chief in November, he said.

Current Fire Chief Gregory Summers announced his retirement in early August. He has agreed to stay for a transition period after the new hire is made.

Ten applicants seeking to take over Summers' position are currently fire chiefs at city, county, rural or private departments in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Iowa, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, Texas or Washington.

Among them is Steven Crouch, who heads the North Star Volunteer Fire Department in North Pole, Alaska.

John Jordan, the fire chief in Bryant, also applied.

Jordan is one of 11 Arkansans who want the job. They include the deputy fire chief in Rogers and a battalion chief in Pine Bluff. A man who works in the freight room at a Little Rock Walmart also applied, although he has no firefighter experience.

Two applicants are employees of the Little Rock Fire Department -- Division Chief of Training Michael Doan and Battalion Chief Charles Scott Valentine.

Doan supervises the department's training program and acts as designee for Summers in his absence. He's been with the department since 2003. Valentine has worked with the department since 2̶0̶0̶7̶ 1985* and serves as a shift commander.

Other applicants are assistant chiefs, battalion chiefs, deputy chiefs, firefighters or former firemen at departments across the country.

Of note is Michael Callahan, deputy fire commissioner of the Chicago Fire Department. His application said he makes $187,680 a year supervising 1,000 employees. He's been with the Chicago department since 1980 but is "seeking a more challenging" position with more responsibility, he wrote.

The Little Rock job was advertised with an annual salary between $91,721 and $141,250, depending on experience. Summers, 57, is making $133,980. He was hired at a $110,000 salary in 2009. He's the department's 12th fire chief and first black chief.

The Little Rock chief leads a department of 423 people with an operating budget of about $50 million.

Another applicant for the Little Rock job is Forest Burke, the fire chief at the Duvall-King County Fire District 45 in Duvall, Wash. He is a graduate of the Harvard-Kennedy School of Business in Cambridge, Mass., and has a master's degree in executive fire service leadership from Grand Canyon University in Arizona, plus lower level degrees in public safety administration and fire protection technology.

Applicant James Piper is the deputy fire chief at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Thuwal, Saudia Arabia. The university is a graduate-level school that has a city built around it. Piper wrote that he is looking for a job back in the United States.

Allen Lewis has also worked overseas, as a team medic for an ambassador protection detail in Kabul as a personal security specialist to the U.S. Department of State, his application states. He's currently the fire chief in Virginia, Minn.

Jason Ford wrote in his application that he was most recently stationed in Kuwait as a fire chief for IAP Worldwide Services at Camp Arifjan, a U.S. Army installation. His contract ended last month. He previously worked as a fire protection specialist for Sallyport Global, performing life safety risk assessments on structures within control of the U.S. at locations across Afghanistan.

Whoever is chosen to replace Summers is inheriting a nationally accredited department with the highest possible insurance rating.

Moore has said he wants to hire someone who can continue the excellence that Summers has built. Summers has worked for the department for 34 years and has been chief for eight.

Metro on 09/25/2017

*CORRECTION: Charles Scott Valentine, one of 56 applicants to fill the Little Rock fire chief’s job, has worked with the Little Rock Fire Department since 1985. A previous version of this story incorrectly reported how long Valentine had been with the department.

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