Archives > Plano Star-courier > News
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
RSS
Share
New fire chief settles into role
Photo courtesy of John Mouser / Plano Fire Rescue Associates: Brian Crawford, left, is congratulated by Mayor Phil Dyer after being sworn in as Plano’s new fire chief. He was accompanied by his wife, Stacey.
By Bill Conrad, bconrad@starlocalnews.com, @Bill_PlanoStar on Twitter
Brian Crawford knows that he has big shoes to fill in his new position as Plano’s fire chief.
The longtime Louisiana resident officially took over as chief on Dec. 3 and said he knows leading the 300-plus members of the Plano Fire Department will not always be easy.
“What can you say about [former chief] Bill Peterson? He is an icon not only in this community, but in the fire service across the country,” Crawford said. “It is always tough following someone like that. I am not going to try and fill his shoes because that would be impossible to do.
Crawford, a former fire chief in Shreveport, likened his job to running a professional sports team. Building the team into a champion is not the hard part, he said – the hard part is maintaining a high level of excellence once it has been achieved.
With Plano FD currently having an ISO 1 rating, the highest given by the Insurance Service Office, he feels the championship squad has already been assembled.
“We provide a great service, but how can we make that service even better? That is what I think about every day when I wake up,” he said. “We have to be a dynamic organization; we have to constantly scrutinize ourselves, our delivery service and our policies and procedures. ... Plano is doing a great job right now, but in order for us to maintain that championship level team we have to evolve.”
Crawford, 49, entered the fire service 29 years ago in Shreveport. He worked his way up to the department's chief of staff, at which time he and his mentor, current Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran, felt he was ready to become a chief. He applied for the Dallas Fire Department job in 2006 and made the finals, but was not picked.
When the Plano job opened up several months later, Crawford considered applying, but ultimately decided against it.
“I had a great experience interviewing for the Dallas job, something you cannot duplicate in the classroom,” he said. “However, it was an arduous, exhausting process that was very physically and mentally draining. I knew Plano had a great department, but I was not ready or prepared to go through another long interview process again that quickly.”
Crawford's decision to remain in Shreveport paid off when he was promoted to chief in 2008. He served in that capacity until 2011 when he took a non-fire position with the city as an assistant chief administrative officer at the request of the mayor.
He planned on serving in that position until the mayor left office in 2014, but couldn't pass up the opportunity to interview for the Plano position.
“I wasn't looking for a fire chief job when a man I met at a fire conference this past August mentioned that the Plano job was open,” he said. “I didn't think I could pass this up since this job has only been open once in the past 30 years, and I may be retired the next time it does.”
Crawford enjoyed his time as an assistant chief administrative officer, a position similar to a deputy city manager, saying it taught him how all aspects of city government work and will hopefully make him a more effective chief and leader.
Still, even when Crawford traded in his uniform for a suit and tie, he still considered himself a firefighter at heart.
“I had stayed active in the fire service by writing and speaking at conferences,” he said. “Even though I had been out of the fire service for about a year-and-a-half, when I put the Plano uniform back on it was like I never left.”
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
You must register with a valid email to post comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here:
Become a Registered User
- Return to: News «
- Home «
- Top of Page ^
