Conroe Fire Department is made up of 155 firefighters and covers 77 square miles with a population of 114,00 residents, Sims said in an interview with Community Impact. Sims also said he believes that once the development moratorium is lifted, much of the development that has been slowed is going to hit a rapid pace, and staying up to date with fire equipment and personnel is at the top of his list.
Can you share a little about your career journey and what led you to this position?
The career journey has been a tremendous journey. I started as a volunteer firefighter here for the city of Conroe, I got the opportunity to get hired, become a firefighter, and work my way through the ranks. ... I retired here in 2016 and took a fire chief's position in Central Texas. ... It was a great opportunity over there—great city, great organization. ... But then things took me in a different direction. ... A position came open back here in Montgomery County, with Montgomery County Emergency Services District No. 9, where I became their assistant chief. ... That opportunity allowed me to help an organization grow, advance and develop some folks. ... Then the fire chief position opened here in Conroe. ... It was a lifelong dream to be the fire chief here, especially with my family history in the department. ... My father was a firefighter here, and my great uncle was the fire chief for 20 years. ... He was also the mayor in the ‘70s. ... So, I've come full circle. ... It’s an honor and a privilege to be here. ... I’m blessed beyond measure. ... I got a wonderful wife that's been on the journey with me and supported me and my family.
What are your top priorities as the new fire chief?
50% of the organization is new, so I've been getting out to the stations, meeting the new faces, and reconnecting with those I worked with before. ... Building connections, listening and hearing them is going to help me move better in the organization. I intend to make this a regular occurrence to maintain a pulse on what the organization is doing. ... My first order of business is Fire Station No. 8. ... I've been working on that since the first few days I was here. ... We’ve put out a request for qualifications, received proposals, and now we're in the evaluation period. ... We should finalize that process next week. ... We’re optimistic we’ll get going by summer, but that remains to be seen. ... I did a survey and got great feedback from the organization, which will help us lay out a roadmap moving forward.
What’s your vision for the department as the community continues to grow?
My vision is Station No. 8—one of the areas of feedback from administration as well as the fire department personnel is we're behind. We are [behind] on fire stations, and we know that we need to get there. We’re working on identifying locations for Stations [Nos.] 11 and 12 and possibly more. ... We’re collaborating with our [Geographic Information System] department to make sure we’re lining everything up properly. ... We’re also working with city administration on identifying property ... cooperative agreements with developers. ... We’re in good shape with our current personnel—155 strong, only down by three. ... We’ve recently hired some new staff, and we’re continuing to recruit. ... We’re exploring the feasibility of hosting our own fire academy. ... This will help recruit local residents who may not have the resources to attend an academy elsewhere. ... They could be hired as cadets and trained while receiving benefits. ... After completing the academy, they’ll make the full starting firefighter salary. ... This will help us have a deeper pool of candidates and support recruitment. ... Personnel development is also a major priority for me. ... We need to provide opportunities for our people to grow—not just as firefighters, but as leaders. ... We need to provide them the means to enhance their skills and the opportunity to learn. ... My training chief, Michael Barker, is working on restructuring our internal programs, including our Phase Training program. ... This is about personal and professional development.
How is the department adapting to the increased fire risk associated with rapid growth and dense tree cover?
This area is something we've thought about for quite some time. We've had dense tree coverage for years. ... With development, some of that has been cleared, but it remains a concern. ... I can say that our group of guys have routinely been prepared [for wildland fires]. ... We have a team that’s specifically trained and deployed when requested by the state of Texas. ... We’re expanding that training to involve more people in the organization. ... Even if they aren’t deployed, it will help them better understand how to work with the wildland urban interface here. ... This is an ongoing effort to enhance training and preparedness.
Has the department added personnel or equipment to keep up with the area's growth?
We added Station No. 7 six or seven years ago. That was a project that had just begun right before I left, and then it was finalized long after I was gone. ... We have Station No. 8 that will be coming. In the course of that same time frame that I was gone, they added some personnel to specific apparatus around the city. That's part of the reason that we've grown. In addition to the city growing, that's how the fire department has grown. We're still a little bit behind, but we're striving to get there, but it takes vision, takes planning and it takes funds to do those kinds of things.
What challenges does increased development pose for emergency response times?
The growth typically creates increased call volume, and it creates the traffic due to congestion and infrastructure strains, not only for the fire department, but certainly for the rest of the city. ... So addressing these and other challenges requires a strategic plan. The fire department, along with city administration, is going to be working on putting something together that helps us identify that and how we move forward.
What message do you have for the community as their new fire chief?
Some people said, I'm not new, but I guess I am. ... I am the new fire chief and I want to share that I love the city, I love this fire department and ever since I was ever a firefighter, I knew that I wanted to be a firefighter in Conroe, and I got the opportunity to do that, and now I'm getting the opportunity to serve them as their fire chief. My commitment to them is that I will do my very best. I will give my best to them, to provide for them, provide leadership, provide direction, provide a vision, and in order that we can move along in the organization for the city and continue to provide the same level and higher levels of protection for our community, and I commit to them that we will do our very best.
Are there any concerns with access to water?
Yeah, there are certainly concerns [about] that. We've had a few issues in my brief time here about it, but the water issues certainly aren't just for fire protection measures. ... The water pressures, how it's affecting [the residents], that's why the moratorium is in place. ... We want to try to improve that. I know the city administration is working on improving the moratorium issues. ... We've had seven or eight working structure fires since I arrived. We had an apartment fire ... we had a large residential structure [fire]. And of those two instances that I know, because I was personally at those, we had some water pressure issues, and at both of those, during both those times, I let the city administration know, the assistant city manager and the public works director know. But I have confidence in our city administrator, deputy city administrator, and their knowledge of what they're trying to get accomplished for us ... but it's something to be concerned about.
