Prior to accepting the job of Catoosa County Fire Chief, Randy Camp worked for 15 years as the chief of neighboring Walker County.Camp to head up Catoosa Fire Department
By staff writers Shane Foley and Tyler JettCatoosa County Fire Chief Chuck Nichols has been in the fire and rescue service for 4o years, getting his start in 1976 as a volunteer in Chattanooga. In 1980, he formally joined the Chattanooga Fire Department where he worked his way up to assistant fire chief over decades of service.He joined the Catoosa County Fire Department in 2008.“This is a very important decision for me. I’ve been very blessed to work in such a rewarding and fulfilling profession,” Nichols said. “It’s been an honor and privilege to serve the citizens of Catoosa County as their fire chief, and it’s been a joy to work with people so dedicated and committed to protecting the lives of our citizens.”The 58-year-old said his reasons for retiring are strictly personal and that he looks forward to relaxing a bit more, improving his health and enjoying more time with his family.Nichols’ replacement, Randy Camp, has served as the fire chief of Walker County for 15 years, and was the fire chief of Fort Oglethorpe’s fire department for 1o years prior to that.Walker County Commissioner-elect Shannon Whitfield, who will take office Jan. 1, said he isn’t sure why Camp is leaving, though he heard from leaders of other North Georgia local governments that Camp had been looking to leave Walker County since the beginning of the year.Camp did not return calls seeking comment for this story.Whitfield hopes to line up a replacement for Camp by the time he takes office Jan. 1. If he does, he will have moved much faster than Catoosa County did.Catoosa County Manager Jim Walker said he needed about two months to hire Nichols’ replacement. He posted the job opening Sept. 7 and forwarded a stack of résumés to some other fire chiefs in Georgia in the beginning of October. Those chiefs, whom the county paid to advise Walker, whittled the résumés down to seven semifinalists.After two rounds of interviews, Walker offered the job to Camp.He said the commissioners like that Camp was used to this area — its roads, mountains and wildfires. Camp also already knows the community leaders.“Everybody here sort of knows everybody,” Walker said. “You have some growing pains as an outsider that I don’t think you have as a local.”Walker said he plans to reach out to Whitfield with advice about a potential replacement for Camp.“I’ve definitely got a list of qualified people,” said Walker.Email Shane Foley at sfoley@timesfreepress.comEmail Tyler Jett at tjett@timesfreepress.com
While the process to replace Catoosa County Fire Station #3, located in Graysville on Highway 41, began under the tenure of county Fire Chief Chuck Nichols, it will be completed with another at the helm.
Nichols, who has served as the department’s chief for nearly nine years, is retiring at the end of the year.
Last week, his replacement was named: current Walker County Fire Chief Randy Camp.
“Given the possible price tag, they think that’s fair to Randy [Camp],” Catoosa County Manager Jim Walker said of the County Commission’s decision to wait until Camp has settled into his new position before moving forward with any decisions concerning the station.
However, at the commission’s Nov. 15 meeting, a possible first glance of the new station was seen.
After receiving six proposals from various contractors, the commission asked one, Pond Construcors Inc. based Norcross, Ga., to give a public presentation of its proposed plans. Included were specific remedies for many of the current station’s inadequacies.
Modern fire stations have two primary areas: an apparatus bay and a residential space that houses firefighters when they’re on duty. The current Graysville station wasn’t originally built as such; it was an auto repair shop. The county converted the space into a station to house trucks and equipment, but the firefighters have to stay at an on-site modular facility separate from the station itself.
Since the Graysville station is a 24-hour, fully manned station, the separation of the residential space from the truck bay creates an unnecessary inconvenience for the firefighters – and a delay in response time, said Nichols.
He cited other issues with the existing station, including a leaky roof and poor ventilation systems to properly expel diesel exhaust released when the trucks start up.
Nichols previously said repairing and renovating the existing station would be cost-prohibitive.
The estimated cost for the new station, depending on construction options, is around $1.8 million, Pond representatives said, but that is based purely on a market average for a facility like the one they have designed.
Among the issues that could alter the price tag is the land on which the existing station sits. There is an unknown structure buried beneath the station. Pond’s preliminary examination of the property was unable to determine what it is or how deep it is. If further analysis reveals the buried structure poses an environmental hazard, the cost to remove it could be substantial. However, if it is sufficiently deep or benign enough, a liner under the proposed new station could suffice.
Once Camp begins serving as Catoosa’s fire chief, Walker said, the commission will consult him on what he thinks is the best course of action, since any decision will directly affect his department.
Camp will take over as fire chief on Jan. 1, 2017.
“Chief Camp is a proven leader, and I don’t know of any firefighter with a better mix of leadership experience and Northwest Georgia experience than Chief Camp,” Walker said in a press release.