Questions and answers: Find out how Conroes new fire chief is expanding the department before growth

Paul Sims became the new Conroe fire chief after the city council appointed him by 35 applicants who, according to prior reporting, met the minimum qualifications during his meeting on December 2.

The Conroe fire brigade consists of 155 firefighters and covers 77 square kilometers with 114.00 inhabitants, said Sims in an interview with Community effects. Sims also said that he believes that a large part of the development that has been slowed down reaches a large part of the development of the development moratorium, and if you stay up to date with fire devices and staff, the top is at the top of his list.

Can you share a little about your career and what has you led to this position?

The career tour was an enormous journey. I started here as a volunteer for the city of Conroe. I had the opportunity to become hired, to become a fireman and to work through the ranks. … I retired here in 2016 and took over the position of a fire chief in central texas. … there was a great opportunity there – big city, great organization. … but then things took me in a different direction. … a position was opened here in Montgomery County with Montgomery County Emergency Services District No. 9, where I became her deputy boss. … this opportunity gave me to help an organization to grow, promote and develop some people. … then the position of the fire brigade opened here in Conroe. … it was a lifelong dream to be the fire chief here, especially with my family history in the department. … my father was a firefighter here and my great uncle was fire chief for 20 years. … he was also the mayor in the 70s. … so I closed the circle. … it is an honor and privilege to be here. … I'm blessed about trade fairs. … I have a wonderful woman who was on the trip with me and supported me and my family.

What are your top priorities as the new fire chief?

50% of the organization are new, so I came to the stations, hit the new faces and connected to those with whom I have previously worked with. … build up connections, listen and hear them help me to move better in the organization. I intend to make this a regular event in order to maintain a pulse about what the organization does. … my first rules of procedure is the fire station No. 8. … I have been working on it since the first few days in which I was here. … we have made an inquiry for qualifications, received suggestions, and now we are in the evaluation period. … we should complete this process next week. … we are optimistic, we will start until summer, but that remains to be seen. … I carried out a survey and received a great feedback from the organization, which helps us to advance a roadmap.

What is your vision for the department because the community continues to grow?

My vision is station No. 8 – a feedback area of ​​the administration and the fire brigade staff is back. We are [behind] Feuer stations and we know that we have to arrive there. We are working on identifying locations for stations [Nos.] 11 and 12 and possibly more. … we work with our [Geographic Information System] Department to ensure that we do everything correctly. … we also work with the city administration to identify property … cooperative agreements with developers. … we are in good condition with our current staff – 155 strong, only by three. … we recently hired some new employees and continue to recruit. … we examine the feasibility to organize our own fire academy. … This will help recruit residents who may not have resources to visit an academy elsewhere. … they could be set as cadets and trained during the performance. … after completing the academy you will make the firefighter's full content. … This will help us to have a deeper pool of candidates and to support the recruitment. … personnel development also has a great priority for me. … we have to offer our employees the opportunity to grow – not as firefighters, but as a guide. … we have to provide you with the funds to learn your skills and the opportunity to improve. … my head of training, Michael Barker, is working on the restructuring of our internal programs, including our phase training program. … this is about personal and professional development.

How does the department adapt to the increased fire risk associated with quick growth and dense tree covering?

This area is something that we have been thinking about for some time. We have had dense tree cover for years. … a part of it was clarified with the development, but it remains a problem. … I can say that our group was routinely prepared by boys [for wildland fires]. … we have a team that is specially trained and used if they are requested by the state of Texas. … we expand this training to include more people in the organization. … even if they are not used, it helps you to better understand how you can work with the interface of Wildland Urban. … This is a constant effort to improve training and preparation.

Has the Department of Personnel or Equipment added to keep up with the growth of the region?

We added station No. 7 six or seven years ago. That was a project that had just started shortly before my departure, and then it was completed long after my way. … we have stop no. 8 that will come. In the course of the same period I was gone, they added some employees to the city in the city. This is part of the reason why we have grown. In addition to the growth of the city, the fire brigade has grown. We are still a bit back, but we strive to get there, but a vision is needed, planning and it takes money to do things like that.

What are the challenges of increasing the development time for emergency times?

The growth usually creates an increased call volume and generates traffic due to traffic jams and infrastructure tribes, not only for the fire brigade, but for the rest of the city. … coping with these and other challenges requires a strategic plan. The fire brigade will work together with the city administration to put together something that helps us identify this and how we go forward.

What message do you have for the community as the new fire chief?

Some people said I'm not new, but I think it's me. … I am the new fire brigade and I want to share that I love the city, I love this fire brigade and since I have ever been a firefighter, I knew that I wanted to be a firefighter in Conroe, and I got the opportunity to serve you as a fire chief. My commitment to you is that I will do my best. I will do my best to offer you to offer guidance, offer instructions, offer a vision and so that we can participate in the organization for the city and continue to offer the same level of protection for our community, and I undertake that we will do our best.

Are there any concerns about access to water?

Yes, there are certainly concerns [about] The. We had a few problems here in my short time, but the water problems are certainly not just for fire protection measures. … the water pressure, as it works, how it affects [the residents]That is why the moratorium is present. … we want to try to improve that. I know that the city administration is working on improving the moratorium problems. … we have had seven or eight working structure fires since I arrived. We had an apartment fire … we had a large residential structure [fire]. And of these two cases I know because I was personally with them, we had some problems with the water pressure, and in both times I know the city administration, the deputy city administrator and the director of public work. But I have confidence in our city administrator, deputy city administrator and their knowledge of what they want to achieve for us … but it is something you have to worry about.