Charles Simms nominated as Detroit's new permanent fire commissioner
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Charles Simms, the city's interim commissioner for the fire department, has been nominated to fill the position permanently.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said Simms' work leading the department since his appointment nearly two years ago made him a strong candidate for the position. Simms' nomination will be considered by the city council, which has 30 days to vote on his appointment.
Duggan was one of many individuals that celebrated Simms' work as both the interim commissioner and his work through more than three decades in the fire department. His tenure started in 1986 at the age of 19.
"You're going to be the greatest there ever was," said Harold Watkins Sr. "Well, not quite."
Watkins also served as a fire commissioner and Simms' boss before he retired.
Duggan applauded Simms for speeding up hiring, adding more ambulances to the city, while reducing their response time. Before Simms was appointed, Duggan said reports of drinking in firehouses, crews driving drunk in department vehicles, and culture problems had spilled into media reports that prompted a need for a change.
Charles Simms announced as city's nominee for permanent fire commissioner.
On Wednesday, he said Simms was the man for the job.
"…during COVID, the department got lax as far as the leadership being actively in the firehouses, being engaged with the members," he said. "I didn't know whether there was a cultural problem that was going to take a leader from outside the city of Detroit or whether we had a leader inside that was going to change the direction.
"I'm really pleased to say the job that Charles Simms has done in the last year and a half reaffirmed my faith in the leadership of the men and women who were already here."
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As staffing shortages caused response times to grow, Detroit merged its ambulance and EMTs with the fire department, opting to cross-train both with the other's skill set. Simms also recommended adding private ambulances to the city's fleet to decrease how long it took for them to reach a scene.
Under Simms' leadership, the number of ambulances available has grown to 38-40 a day while the response time has fallen below the national average, Duggan said.
There are also around a hundred recruits in training that will be ready to work come next summer.