The Fort Lauderdale Fire Chief, James Eddy, has resigned.
Though no official word has yet come from City Hall, insiders report that Eddy offered his letter of resignation to City Manger George Gretsas, and is expected to leave officially in October.
Update… the City has confirmed Eddy’s departure !
Chief Eddy
Eddy has been on the job for only three and a half years, and much of that has been mired in controversy.
From the start, critics pointed to his lack big city Fire Chief experience ( he had last been a Fire Chief in 1990, in a considerably smaller city than Fort Lauderdale). Also, detractors bemoaned the fact that Eddy had been running a business identifying causes of fires for the last 15 years.
After arriving in Fort Lauderdale, Eddy was thrust into overseeing the City’s plans for ten new fire stations, paid for with a voter approved bond referendum of $40 million dollars. The plans turned out to be faulty, cost estimates for construction were way low, and major adjustments have had to be made.
Conjecture about Eddy’s replacement has already begun.
Will Gretsas try and hire from within and escape the criticism he received when he hired Eddy? Recently retired Assistant Fire Chief Steve McInerny was a top contender for the job when Eddy was picked, but has recently become the Fire Chief in Naples.
Naples Fire Chief McInerny
Current Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Justinak, once head of the Fort Lauderdale Fire Fighters Union, is surely a possible candidate.
Assistant Chief Justinak
Stayed Tuned ! ………….Tim