By FireRescue1 Staff
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Charleston Fire Chief Karen Brack, who announced her resignation earlier this month, addressed her decision to step down and the department’s future.
ABC4 reported that Chief Brack, who was hired in 2012, said no one forced her out; her final day will be April 7. While discussing her decision to leave, Chief Brack said she was worried about morale.
“I think we have a morale problem in some areas,” she said. “I think we also have a pay problem.”
In 2016, firefighters fought in court for unpaid overtime, and won.
“We got time-and-a-half overtime pay, which they did not have when I got here. We got an educational incentive equal to police department. We’ve gotten paramedic pay since I have been here,” she said.
Deputy Chief John Tippett will take over as interim chief once Brack leaves.
Brack was the department’s first female fire chief, who took over for Chief Thomas Carr when illness forced him into retirement. Carr was named chief following the Sofa Super Store fire that killed nine Charleston firefighters and tasked with rebuilding the department.
Carr hired Tippett to oversee the department’s operations division.