A new chapter

Chris Mullins knew he wanted to be a firefighter before he entered elementary school. His neighbors had a vintage fire truck, and they would sit him atop it from a young age.

“I guess that’s when I was bitten by the bug,” said Mullins, who officially began serving as Mountain Brook Fire Chief on March 1. “I remember back then thinking, ‘I love this.’”

Mullins first came to Mountain Brook Fire Department in 1996 as a firefighter and paramedic. At that time, Mullins said former Chief Robert “Zeke” Ezekiel was in the early stages of emphasizing department pride, community service and professionalism. 

“All of those, they were at the time words on the wall,” Mullins said. “I would see them and knew, that’s the department I wanted to be in.”

Although he knew he wanted to be part of the culture of change at the department, Mullins said becoming chief was not part of his plan. He continuously worked to improve himself through education and training, he said, moving up to lieutenant in 2002, captain in 2006, fire battalion chief in 2008 and deputy fire chief in 2015.

“I was always happy and content in the position I had,” Mullins said.

Even though he was content, Mullins took advantage of the opportunities he had to put his fingerprints on the organization. One of his proudest accomplishments, he said, is the role he played in bringing a piece of steel from the World Trade Center to Mountain Brook. 

Mullins worked with Birmingham-based metalworker Shea Scully on the design for the steel, which sits outside of the Mountain Brook Municipal Center.

“That’s just a visual that we have when we look out there,” Mullins said. “Because firefighting is a brotherhood. It’s just special.”

He also internalized Ezekiel’s message of community involvement, he said, and worked to encourage people to get out of the fire station and out into Mountain Brook.

“I remember telling some folks, I said, ‘If I ever get promoted we’re getting out of the station,’” Mullins said.

He was promoted to lieutenant in 2002 and made good on his promise — he started encouraging other firefighters to leave the station for lunch. That interaction is important for a fire department, Mullins said, because it allows residents to see the members of their department outside of difficult situations such as fire or medical emergencies.

“It’s kind of a familiarity thing,” he said.

Ezekiel’s words on the wall and work to improve the department has paid off, Mullins said, and now Mountain Brook has a high standard for its firefighters and service. The groundwork Ezekiel laid and built up also benefited Mullins as he came in as chief, he said.

Many times when someone leaves a company, business or department, they leave sort of a mess for the next person to clean up, Mullins said. That is not the case with MBFD.

“They have to right the ship,” he said. “There’s no righting the ship to do here. …Mine is more of a maintenance and continued improvement.” 

As chief, Mullins plans to continue the emphasis on training and education, he said, while working to utilize new resources provided by technology. Overall, he said he believes the city selected him as the next chief because they were not looking for change, Mullins said. After Ezekiel closed his chapter with the department, the city hoped to open a new one of sustained development.

“It’ll be kind of like Zeke but with a 20-year-younger perspective,” Mullins said.