On June 18, 2007, a furniture store fire in Charleston, S.C., turned tragic and left nine firefighters dead. Since then, it has been the most-analyzed fire in the United States. Much of the scrutiny came from a panel of industry experts hired by the city to examine the department and the incident. The group issued two reports calling for wholesale change in the department. On the day the second report was released, Fire Chief Rusty Thomas retired and a nationwide search for his replacement commenced. At the end of September, Montgomery County, Md., Fire Chief Thomas Carr was selected as Charleston's new chief. He's a 30-year veteran who was Montgomery's first chief and had family ties to Charleston.

If everything goes as planned, what changes will we see after your first 100 days?

It starts with establishing a good line of communication. That's something I've already started working on. I've communicated with the leadership and sent a memo to all employees telling them that I expect honest and open communication. Of course I've got all the reports but I need to get with the actual folks on the street and have a conversation with them. I'm going to spend a lot of my time listening and really getting a sense of what is going on in the organization. From that, I'll develop my plan. I think you'll see an organization that is focused on readiness, that understands what I expect, and that will be held accountable for what I expect. Getting down to the details of how we do that will depend on what I find, what the issues are and what I think I can do.

Ultimately at the end of the first year, I want to have a master plan, a strategic plan in place that will by my blueprint for where we are going. It is going to take every bit of 100 days, probably more to get that done.

What will be the biggest difficulty in your early days heading CFD?

Establishing trust with the troops. I'm coming in with a new leadership style. If they don't have confidence, if they are second-guessing everything we do, then we're going to have trouble. Change is never easy. One of the reasons I decided to take this job is because the organization is ripe for change. The leadership in the city government supports change. The community is expecting a pretty systemic change. I enjoy working in that kind of environment. They are still hurting. They've had a tough year and no one expects them to be healed by now.

With Charleston in an economic downturn, how will you bring the fire department's equipment up to standard?

The mayor is committed to the staffing. He's committed to the point that if the budget shrinks we will research raising taxes. I think the community is equally committed.… I'm confident that there are dollars there.

How important is maintaining the city's Class 1 ISO rating and do you think it is in jeopardy?

The ISO ratings in its original state, in my opinion, lost much of its horsepower as a template to guide an organization which way to go and where to put resources. The fire service has become much more complex than that. A process, like the accreditation process, better meets our demand. But, ironically, accreditation and ISO have come together and so it fits together as one piece of the puzzle as opposed to two completely different approaches to things. It helps you identify what your weaknesses are organization-wide and it gives you template for improvement.

We went through the accreditation process in Montgomery County and were successful. I look to do the same thing with Charleston and that will shore up the ISO position. It is not going to be fast and it is not going to be easy. There's a lot of documentation that I don't believe is in place. We are probably going to have to put at least one person on it. Everybody's going to have to do a lot of work to get it done, but in the end you are better for it. I would hope [to be accredited] within two years. That's aggressive knowing that Montgomery County did it in 18 months and I'm told that that is very fast. Two years is an aggressive schedule. As you work through the process you improve and it improves your organization as you go. I don't want to do accreditation just to check a box to say we are accredited. I want to do it because it means something.

Yes, maintaining that ISO 1 rating sure [will have financial implications for Charleston residents]. Charleston is growing and even if the Sofa Super Store fire hadn't happened, it is going to be challenging to make sure you have the appropriate resources in place. It will be healthy for me to look under every stone.

Will you change how Charleston handled mutual aid?

I don't have a feel for that. Although, when we did the public meeting the local chiefs were all invited and to the person they all talked about that issue. They are willing to get engaged, but are waiting for Charleston. It is doable and there is interest. From where I come from, there is tremendous value; this is something you have to do. It will help to have a better-coordinated effort and the way you get a better-coordinated effort is having a pre-existing relationship. That includes talking on a routine basis. It involves training together. And, I believe this strongly, it is improving the ability to communicate with interoperable communication. If you have those things you will have a better response capability. I'm willing to stand up and work with the other chiefs to make it happen.

Why did you take this job?

I come from a background with an interest in organizational development. In Montgomery County there were huge organizational development issues. I was the first chief in Montgomery County and I had to work to put in place a system that brings together career and a large, active number of volunteers.

Charleston's issues are different, but they are certainly no less challenging. I'm excited by the challenge. That's just my nature. My job is to facilitate, advocate and cheerlead for the troops' needs. While I work for the mayor, my responsibility is for these troops.

Did you take a pay cut to come to Charleston?

Yeah.

How long will you stay here?

I'll be successful if when I leave, whenever that may be — I'm thinking five, six years, maybe longer mdash; there is someone within the organization ready to step up. Organizations are not about one person. I'll stay as long as I'm liking it. It turns out I still love going to work in Montgomery County, so I'm leaving on kind of a high note.

How will you handle the intense scrutiny and analysis that your peers and the press will place on your performance?

I love it; I'm going to thrive on it. I want the feedback and to hear what other people say about what I'm doing. I want to take advantage of what people have to offer. Somebody's going to have to do this job; if it is not me, it is somebody else. I feel I'm well prepared, but I lost a lot of sleep thinking through this scenario and every direction it could go. But I want to do this work.

How do you see the pros and cons of coming in from the outside (vs promoted through CFD ranks)?

Where Charleston is, they need an outsider. Rusty Thomas, the previous chief, is a tremendous guy, and he reached out to me as soon as it was announced, even his wife called my wife. They are at a point where there are so many issues out there, alleged and I say that because I don't know personally, they need some fresh new chief to put their vision together. It would be tough for someone from within to deal with what needs to be done.

What will you do about building code enforcement?

Right now the enforcement is separate [from the fire department]. I asked the mayor this question and he's committed to letting us work on that to see if there is a better design. I want to get my finger on the pulse of what exactly is happening there. I've not met the building code official yet. That's a critical piece and an important component.

Is there anything in your background or experience that prepares you to take on this level of a problem?

It's hard to get any tougher than Montgomery County. It's 40 years of conflict and six legislative efforts to get a fire chief put in place that finally culminated in 2004 with a new council member who was discouraged by his fellow council members saying 'don't mess with this.' He said, 'No. From a homeland security perspective, if nothing else, we need one person in charge of this division.' It was no magic on my part. I just listen to what people say, be respectful and do what I say I'm going to do.

How do the two departments compare and will your experience transfer?

It will transfer over well, especially from a leadership perspective. I understand the fire service and I understand what the needs are. Except for the emotion, it doesn't matter if they are volunteers or nonvolunteers. Understanding the issues and what it takes to solve them, I'm not trying to make a mini Montgomery County in Charleston, but I am trying to take advantage of what we tried and worked well and see if it applies after listening to what the troops have to say.

Will you keep the officers as they are, or do you plan to move people around?

I don't know. A lot of people have asked that question. I'm going to take some time to hear what folks have to say. The mayor has been very supportive and wants me to structure the fire department as it should be structured. He does not have any preconceived concepts, nor am I going in with preconceived concepts. I haven't drawn up an org chart and said this is the road map. They are hurting. They have some trust issues that are long-standing. We need to get at that before we say this is what we are going to do.