What we know
Former long-time FireRescue1 Editorial Advisor Adam Thiel made a huge career leap this week when he was named Philadelphia’s fire commissioner. It’s a big leap because it will be his first command of a major metropolitan department. He’s seen as an outsider and it’s a somewhat troubled department.
The ground game
Newly elected Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, whose father was a firefighter, vowed to improve the department. That included ending brownouts and removing the former mayor’s fire commissioner, Derrick Sawyer. The move was greeted almost instantly with moderate pushback from firefighters.
The union publically criticized the appointment for bringing in an outsider rather than promoting from within. And the Club Valiants, an alliance of black firefighters, criticized the move for replacing Sawyer, a black man, with Thiel, a white man. Kenney is also white.
Thiel’s fire service career began more than 20 years ago and he’s been on a steady rise ever since. He most recently served as Virginia’s deputy secretary of public safety and homeland security. Before that, he was fire chief in Alexandria, Va. He’s been a deputy chief in Goodyear, Ariz., and held several consulting and higher-education positions.
I talked to several fire service leaders about what it will take for Thiel to succeed in the City of Brotherly Love; many think he will and I hope they are right. Here’s a look at the keys to the game.
How he wins
1. Being an outsider is a “glass half full/half empty” proposition. From the half-full view, outside leaders can bring fresh perspective to large fire departments. There have certainly been recent examples of cities going that route. Chief Gregory Dean in Washington, D.C. is one example. Getting buy-in from his fresh perspective will be a key to victory.
2. By all accounts Thiel is hard working, smart and personable. He’ll need all of those traits to gain support from both the rank-and-file and the elected leaders.
3. Having the mayor’s backing is key when times get tough, and they will get tough. We’ve seen this play out in San Francisco in recent times. Keeping Kenney in his corner will show everyone that they are rowing in the same direction.
4. Correctly handling high-profile incidents will show there’s a steady hand on the tiller. Incidents like the 2014 fire that killed four children and led to days of protests against the fire department for perceived slow response can shake confidence in leadership. Outside chief hires, like Chief Dean in D.C., have faced similar crisis in their short tenures.
How he loses
1. Some cite Thiel’s lack of experience with strong unions, as is the one in Philadelphia, as a catch point. If he fails to get union backing and finds himself facing a series of no-confidence votes, it will be hard to keep the public’s and the mayor’s trust.
2. If Mayor Kenney turns out to be a one-term mayor or can’t financially sustain his support for improving the fire department, Thiel could be left adrift.
3. Thiel is often described as confident and assertive. But if those characteristics are not kept in check, they could slide into arrogance.
4. The culture at the department has been described as ranging from challenging to toxic, especially where racial matters are concerned. If that river runs too deep, he may not be able to affectively change its course. Chief Thomas Carr led a wholesale cultural change at the Charleston Fire Department, but it took a strong leader and a horrible tragedy to get them to that point.
5. If he gets off to a rocky start and is hit with one or several major incidents that are purely departmental, like unavailable ambulances, he could find himself a sacrificial lamb on the altar of politics.
Further reading
Expert: How fire chiefs can defuse Philly-style protests
Philly fire commish defends response to fatal fire
