Copyright 2006 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By LESSIE SCURRY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
David Walson is living the dream of countless young boys — and these days probably quite a few girls as well. The College Park resident recently was named the new chief for the College Park Fire Department, becoming the first African-American to hold the post.
A retired fire/EMS battalion chief for Fulton County, Walson was chosen from a pool of about 39 applicants, some coming from as far away as Tennessee, Virginia and Michigan. He fills a slot that had been vacant for about a year.
“I was humbled and honored when I was offered the job,” he said. “I had some apprehension at first, because I had not served in this capacity. But I had prepared myself, subconsciously, to be fire chief.”
Walson received a bachelor of science degree in fire and safety engineering technology from the University of Cincinnati in Ohio and has more than 30 years of experience in firefighting, along with continuous career enhancement along the way.
“Chief Walson came to us with a plan, with a vision for the city,” said College Park City Manager William Johnson III. “He had years of experience and an understanding of how this is not just fire. It’s emergency service and reaching out and educating the community. He had a really good understanding of what it takes to raise the department to the next level.”
Walson said he has three main goals in his new position — succession planning, career development and community outreach.
“I’d like to create the necessary system whereby the next chief comes from this department,” he said. “To my dismay, in Fulton County we never had a chief that came up through the ranks.”
Johnson said Walson’s idea of in-house promotions is something that would help the city’s departments across the board. “We want the people in the Fire Department as well as the city to grow our Fire Department and promote from within,” he said. “We want our employees to know there’s a future with the city.”
Walson plans to begin an accreditation process for the 70-member fire department squad and to provide more intense educational programs for the community.
The Mississippi native comes from a large family. He and Sheila, his wife of 34 years, have two adult children and three grandsons ages 2, 5 and 7. Walson loves to travel and often incorporates his drive for firefighting knowledge into his trips.
“It used to be that whenever we went somewhere, even to other continents, that I would ask the driver where the nearest fire department was,” he said. “My wife does it now because she knows its importance to me.”
Walson sees the department’s adjusting to the growth of the city as one of his major challenges. “As a city, we’re growing tremendously,” said Walson, a College Park resident for more than 25 years. “And as we grow, it’s really required that we redefine ourselves and accommodate that development.”
He said the fact that he is the city’s first African-American fire chief is not something he considers to be of major importance.
“I would like my legacy to be that I was the best fire chief,” he said. “We don’t control how we’re born. I don’t want an action that I had nothing to do with to be the hallmark of my career instead of my commitment, dedication and hard work.”
Walson said the key to success of a fire department or any other department, company or agency is continued education and training. “You have to constantly work on your skills,” he said. “You’re never there.”