Continuing the mission

The last year has been full of changes for the Mountain Brook Fire Department and Fire Chief Chris Mullins. But the changes have been small, Mullins said, and it took reflecting in his annual report to see how much has been accomplished.

“We’ve got so much going on that some days it’s almost like we’re sitting, spinning our wheels, but as I look back and see the things that we’ve done, we’ve really gotten a lot accomplished,” said Mullins, who took over as fire chief in March 2016.

When Mullins moved up from deputy chief to fire chief, he was leading a department already in good shape, he said, thanks to the foundation laid by former Fire Chief Robert “Zeke” Ezekiel. In the last year, Mullins has aimed to continue work started by Ezekiel, while putting his own spin on things.

“He’s continuously stayed with our mission. He has supported the mission [Ezekiel laid out] since the day he’s taken office,” said Fire Marshal Leland Rhudy. “He’s improving that direction; he’s making progress in that direction, but he’s just continued on with different ideas and his style of leadership.”

Rather than completely reform and restructure the department, Deputy Chief Stacey Cole said Mullins is building on momentum.

“I don’t want to pass up the opportunity to say that Chief Ezekiel, he laid down the foundation for us,” Cole said. “So the changes we’ve had, yes, we’ve had changes, but it’s something that was a plan of his that was laid down 20 years ago.”

Some changes followed the retirement of 11 top managers and promotions that resulted. When the managers retired, 46 people had to be moved. Rather than make the changes himself, Mullins asked for input.

“This was the first time we had the whole E-staff, the executive staff, sitting in the room to make the moves,” Mullins said. “I didn’t make the moves because I don’t know those talents as well. I don’t know those personalities. …The shift commanders know that.”

One reason he is able to reach out to others for input, he said, is the staff Ezekiel built.

“It’s decentralized management,” Mullins said. “It’s not all at the end of the hall, in my office. Back when Chief Ezekiel took over here, he didn’t have all of those players, so he had to do all of that. But now, through the years of hiring and promoting the right people … now we can push those decisions out, and I don’t have to do everything anymore.”

Some personnel changes also have been improvements for the department’s level of service, Cole said. Now, all company officers are lieutenants as well as paramedics, which is a first for the department. There is also a paramedic on the ladder truck at all times.

“I think it’s providing a better service for the community, absolutely,” Cole said. “It’s providing better coverage for us.”

Getting the ladder truck at Station 1 ALS (advanced life support) certified is one of the top accomplishments of the year, Mullins said. Of MBFD’s 63 employees, 51 are paramedics, so it was all a matter of rearranging who was on the truck. “We said, ‘Hey, let’s put medics on the ladder truck. Let’s put some ALS equipment on the ladder truck,’” Mullins said. “So if Engine 1 is out, Ladder 1 can pick up the call. So really, what it did, it doubled our advanced life support capabilities in Station One territory.”

Other projects he is proud of include creating a new logo for the department and establishing a more thorough physical exam for firefighters, Mullins said. The new logo includes symbols representing the department, including two crossed axes to show they’re ready for battle and a Spartan helmet showing support for the city and school. 

“It’s just a lot of symbolism,” Mullins said. “It really creates pride in who we are.”

The new physical, which includes more screening and testing to aid in early detection, is a way to keep the department’s most important resource healthy, Mullins said.

“The most important resource in our department is our people, and we will do everything possible to keep our people safe and healthy, and not only when they’re working,” he said.

The steps Mullins has taken in his first year are the first steps in what will remain as his legacy, Cole said. And that is a legacy he believes will be strong.

“Really, this is Chief Ezekiel’s legacy,” Cole said. “Chief Mullins’ legacy will be 10 years from now. And I’m seeing these young guys come in now that we hired last year … and let me just tell you, the quality of these guys we brought on? This place is going to be in better shape when we step out of the way because of the quality of the guys.”

But as he looks toward the future, Mullins said his goal is not to establish a legacy for himself —- it’s to continue growing the department in a positive direction.

“When people see the department, I don’t want them to see me,” Mullins said. “I want them to see the department. I want to make the department the best it could be for when I hand it off, that somebody else can take the helm and go forward and make it even better.”