PHILADELPHIA — After his replacement was announced last week, acting Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Derrick Sawyer said he thought he deserved a “fairer process.”
The Philadelphia Tribune reported that Mayor Jim Kenney announced last Tuesday that Derrick Sawyer’s replacement would be Adam Thiel. The move was questioned by the firefighters’ union and particularly black firefighters.
Sawyer, who is black, was replaced by Thiel, who is white. The city’s fire commissioner has been black since 1992.
“I’m not owed anything but I think I’ve earned the right for the opportunity,” Sawyer said. “I think I deserved the right to a fairer process.”
The mayor’s choice for Thiel as the next commissioner was an attempt to bring stability and fresh perspective.
“The fire department has faced alleged reports of sexual harassment, high racial tensions and lagging emergency response times over the last several years,” Lauren Hitt, the mayor’s director of communication, said. “Given this environment, the mayor thought it would be helpful to have an outsider with a fresh set of eyes come into lead the department.”
Hitt emphasized Thiel’s credentials, saying he has worked in fire departments and emergency response units in four states, including as former fire chief of Alexandria, Va., and would bring best practices to Philadelphia, according to the report.
Sawyer, who defended his job performance, said he worked to resolve workplace issues during his tenure and brought professionalism and national expertise in handling major crises. He said emergency response times improved during his watch and he took steps to make sure the department ran more smoothly.
“Any issues that came up, I was the one who came in and fixed it,” Sawyer said.
Lisa Forrest, local president of the Club Valiants, which represents black professional firefighters, spoke out about her displeasure over the decision.
“While we respect the mayor exercising his prerogative to choose his own administration, we do not believe that there is justification for removing an effective leader with a stellar record,” she said. “In Commissioner Sawyer’s tenure, Philadelphia has experienced its lowest recorded annual fire death rate in its entire history. It appears to our organization that the motivation behind removing Sawyer goes far beyond improving the department or changing its leadership’s perspective.”
Thiel is expected on the job in the next several weeks.