"We have to take into consideration the talent that we have internally," Sneed said.

He said he is distressed by the news that Few will remain in the position until July 31, something Sneed said would leave the department in a state of confusion during upcoming public events that often require emergency response.

"July 4 we have the largest gathering of people in the city at any time this year, and we will still be operating without a permanent fire chief," he said.

After announcing that he had accepted Chief Few’s resignation during a May 29 press briefing, Mayor Anthony A. Williams said an interim fire chief would likely be selected within the next two weeks and that Few would stay on temporarily to work with his replacement. But Sneed said that Few should be on administrative leave in a non-contact position so as not to be able to damage the stability of the department on his way out.

"He’ll be leaving in 60 days, but he’ll still be in a position to impact the lives of people in this city," Sneed said. "I think that’s wrong."

Mayoral spokesman Tony Bullock defended the decision to keep Few in place until July.

"It’s the mayor’s view that a more orderly transition will occur with the outgoing chief there to assist the interim chief," Bullock said.

But D.C. City Councilman Adrian M. Fenty, D-Ward 4, said Assistant Fire Chief Adrian Thompson has the experience necessary to take over the reigns as interim chief without Few’s assistance. Thompson was promoted by Few to be second in command and is currently in charge of operations.

"Adrian Thompson has been in the department 10 times as long as Chief Few has," Fenty said. "I don’t think there will be a problem with a smooth transition."

Bullock said a search committee would be appointed shortly and that it would be months before a permanent fire chief is chosen. Appointment of a new fire chief also requires confirmation by the D.C. City Council.

Sneed said whoever is chosen needs to have a better institutional knowledge of the department as well as an understanding of the political nuances involved in working with the mayor’s office, the city council and Congress.

The end of Few’s two-year tenure comes at a time when the embattled chief has endured stinging criticism over his weak relationship with rank-and-file firefighters as well as inaccuracies in his resume. Few stepped into the D.C. job while a grand jury was investigating alleged irregularities in financial and personnel matters within the department he headed in Augusta, Ga. He replaced popular interim chief Thomas Tippett, a former president of the D.C. firefighters’ union who resigned in May 2000, six months after his appointment, to protest orders that he discontinue staffing truck companies with a fifth man and providing aides to battalion chiefs. Restoring the safety-related fifth man to fire trucks was cited by Mayor Williams and Chief Few as one of Few’s accomplishments.

City Administrator John Koskinen said that while he was grateful for the improvements Few made within the department, he felt a change was needed.

"With all the issues that were going on, it was time for him to move on," Koskinen said.

Copyright 2002, The Common Denominator