John Sullivan

In the past two years as assistant chief, Sullivan oversaw the finance division, IT services, community relations and public affairs, human resources, fire and life safety, board services, and accreditation and planning services.

What made you want to be a firefighter?

I think if I go back in time, what drove me was just the desire to help people. I was always kind of an active kid. I held a job all through high school and before high school even with paper routes and all that. I wanted to do something more. I went to college and started to study psychology, and then I decided maybe I wanted to do something different. I transitioned back and was working at a grocery store, and I decided, 'You know what? Fire service looks cool. I went into it kind of blind. It really intrigued me. One of the best things for me, I was put into a system that was integrated heavily into medical, fire and [hazardous materials].

What drew you to Georgetown?

I was attending a fire chiefs conference in San Antonio in September.

One of the neighboring tables was from Round Rock, and those firefighters discussed the possibility of some openings here. I had a follow-up conversation the last day of the conference and [the conversation] really piqued my curiosity. I looked it up online. It was very interesting.

I watched some City Council videos, and I became very comfortable with the possibility. I discussed it with my wife, we took a quick redeye flight, looked at it, did a 36-hour turn and burn, and decided to move forward with it. The rest is history.

What is your role as fire chief?

I'm here to be part of a team, part of the executive team of the city and part of the team for the fire department where we serve the community. I'm here to coach. I'm here to learn. I'm here to teach. I'm here to serve, most importantly.

What are the challenges in the department, or is there anything you would change?

My biggest plan is to do no harm. Being the new guy coming in, particularly from out of state, I think it would be irresponsible on my part to make any significant decisions without understanding the history or the decisions behind the decisions. Right now, it's still a lot of information gathering and talks and general soft plans.