Gilmer County Fire and Rescue is changing the administrative hierarchy chart.
It is a move prompted by the resignation of Daniel Kauffman as fire chief.
“Sam [West] is going to be the public safety director/fire chief,” said Gilmer County Chair Charlie Paris. “Which puts it back to what it used to be.”
Two deputy chiefs will take the title of deputy chief of administration and deputy chief of operations, he said.
Administration will be in charge of the paperwork for the state, payroll and human resources, and the operations person will be in charge of day-to-day running of the department, Paris said.
Deputy Chief Jason Bryant has assumed the job of deputy chief of administration. The county is looking for a deputy chief of operations.
“My title will be public safety chief,” said West.
He said some small changes are in the works, but he does not expect much to change.
According to Paris, Kauffman resigned within the last two weeks and took a position in Colorado. In his resignation, Kauffman said he was not happy with the direction of the department, Paris said.
“I knew he didn’t like the direction we were going, but he was not encouraged to resign,” said Paris. “He was a good guy.”
Paris said he is looking for some changes to be made in the department.
“I do see this as a reset of the department,” he said. “The biggest change I see is the relationship between the department and other departments in the state.”
West has great contacts and relationships throughout the state, Paris said.
A renewed emphasis on search-and-rescue capabilities and dive teams is also expected.
“This is not going to be any kind of a purge,” Paris said. “We are happy with everyone we have in place.”