DETROIT – Thursday, Nov. 9, was a big day for the Detroit Fire Department as Chuck Simms was officially named Commissioner, removing the “interim” from his title.
He was appointed as the interim fire commissioner in January 2022.
He leads a department working to overcome staffing issues and some embarrassing incidents -- including firefighters drinking on the job.
May 2021: Detroit Fire Department report finds 40% of firefighters have witnessed drinking on the job
It was an emotional moment for Simms, a lifelong firefighter. During his time as interim commissioner, he said the department solved two major problems: response times and getting more ambulances on the street.
Mayor Mike Duggan highlighted the controversial problems that showed a department in crisis but said Simms cleaned up those problems as interim commissioner.
A lack of manpower had led EMS crews to be closed day-to-day, with as many as 12 units closed in one day. It was the first time Duggan spoke with Local 4 regarding the issue.
“Commissioner Simms sat down, he showed me what the hiring process was and there were problems in our HR department that did not process hiring fast enough,” Duggan said. “And the commissioner was good enough not to say that publicly, but he came to me and said, ‘Here’s the timeline if we don’t move immediately to increase the privates, we’re going to have a problem this summer.’”
But with challenges came a special moment. The men who mentored Simms when he was a young firefighter attended the event where he was named commissioner.