Home | BaltimoreBrew.com
The Dripby Mark Reutter8:30 amJul 26, 20130

Last day for Baltimore Fire Chief Clack

Fire deaths dropped but controversy swirled around his five-year tenure.

Above: James Clack was hired in 2008 and his contract was renewed last year.

James S. Clack will return to his native Minnesota after five years as Baltimore’s fire chief, a tenure marked by a sharp reduction in fire-related deaths and a bitter controversy over the closing of fire companies in poorer districts.

Spokesman Ian Brennan confirmed that this is Clack’s last day in office following his surprise decision to retire at age 52. Last July, Clack was handed a six-year $161,000-a-year contract, with annual pay hikes, by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

Clack described his decision to retire a personal one, sparked by his wife’s determination to move back to Minnesota to be with her aging parents. Clack was lured to Baltimore from the Minneapolis Fire Department, where he had briefly served as fire chief.

Assistant Chief Jeffrey R. Segal will fill in as Baltimore’s acting fire chief. No details of the search for a new chief have been released by the mayor’s office. Her new spokesman, Travis Tazelaar, (replacing outgoing spokesman Ryan O’Doherty) did not respond to questions yesterday about the job search.

(UPDATE: The mayor’s office released today the following information: “There is not a hiring committee, but the mayor will be discussing nominees with the union and with the board of fire commissioners. Gans, Gans & Associates [a Plant City, Fla., search firm] have been retained for this search.”)

Steep Drop in Fire Deaths

As an outsider to a proud and, to some, too-tradition-bound department, Clack was credited with promoting minority and women officers and for improving public safety awareness with free smoke alarms and other programs.

Last year, Baltimore recorded the fewest number of fire deaths (12) on record, breaking the previous low of 17 in 2011.

From the start of this year, however, fire deaths have risen. With two men killed in a Mount Vernon apartment blaze earlier this week, fire deaths total 13 so far in 2013.

Fire Company Closures

Clack’s determination to close three fire companies – reportedly at the mayor’s direction – sparked a great deal of criticism last year.

After two delays triggered by a summer heat wave, Truck Company 15, serving East Baltimore, and Squad 11, serving Greektown, were permanently disbanded last July.

“Truck 15 put to rest” – photo from Truck Company 15’s Facebook page last July.

The planned closure of Truck 10 in Harlem Park was delayed, and then reversed by the mayor, who said she found money to keep the unit open.

Redeployment “On Hold”

The disbandment of Company 15 has put a heavy strain on fire services in east and northeast Baltimore.

The unit was the most active of the city’s 18 truck companies, handling more than 4,000 “runs” in the final year before it closed.

Clack was mulling over the redeployment of other companies to add equipment and manpower to the East Side before his resignation.

That process has been put on hold, informed sources tell The Brew.

Also certain to be part of Clack’s legacy is his proposal to increase the hours for firefighters from 42 to 52 hours a week, and to adopt 24-hour shifts in place of traditional 10-hour-day and 14-hour-night rotations.

His plan was overwhelmingly rejected by the city’s two fire unions earlier this year. It is now scheduled to be heard before an arbitrator in September.

Most Popular