commercialappeal.com - Memphis, TN

Mayor nominates C'ville fire official for Memphis fire director spot
By Blake Fontenay
April 7, 2004

Three months after his previous nominee was rejected for living outside Memphis, Mayor Willie Herenton has nominated another candidate for fire director who lives in the suburbs.

Herenton notified City Council members by letter Wednesday that he’s recommending Richard B. Arwood, Collierville’s assistant fire chief, for the Memphis job.

Arwood, who spent 25 years with the Memphis Fire Department before retiring in 1997, now lives in Collierville.

Arwood, a native Memphian, said he’s prepared to move back to Memphis if the council votes to confirm him.

Ther 53-year-old firefighter said he hopes council members won’t disqualify him based on where he lives now.

"That’s a decision they’ll have to make,’’ Arwood said. "Historically, I have lived where I worked."

Arwood said he lived in Memphis when he worked for the city’s fire department before.

The residency issue could be a key one because the council rejected Jerry Crawford, Herenton’s previous nominee, because Crawford lived in Fayette County.

Crawford later took a job as Collierville’s fire chief.

Crawford had been a Memphis Fire Department employee for many years while living outside the city limits, a fact that didn’t sit well with some council members.

Some have indicated they might look differently on a situation where a candidate isn’t living in Memphis because he or she works for another agency outside the city.

Council chairman Joe Brown said he didn’t know Arwood’s background, but his residency in Collierville isn’t reason enough to disqualify him as a candidate.

"I don’t know him, but I’m going to be fair to any nominee the mayor presents," Brown said.

Council member Scott McCormick said he has no qualms with any qualified out-of-town candidate who’s willing to move to Memphis to satisfy the residency requirement.

"I don’t yet know (Arwood’s) qualifications,’’ McCormick said. "But as long as he’s willing to abide by that (residency requirement), I don’t have a problem with it."

Councilman Jack Sammons knows Arwood from the time they attended the Leadership Memphis training seminar together in 1986.

Sammons said Arwood is an excellent candidate for the position, which has been open since former director Chester Anderson retired at the end of last year.

"He (Arwood) has an impressive resume and a personality the troops can rally behind,’’ Sammons said. "The men and women of the fire department are looking for a leader. I think the mayor has found a good one."

Arwood was chief of training for the Memphis department before his retirement in 1997.

Arwood then took a job as executive director of the Iowa state fire training center before returning to the Mid-South in 2000.

He briefly worked as a branch manager for the Guardsmark Inc. security company before joining the Collierville fire department in 2001.

Arwood has bachelor’s degrees from Christian Brothers University and the University of Memphis and a master’s degree from the University of Memphis.

ADDED: 04/08/04

Terry Oldham, president of the Memphis Firefighters Association, also considers Arwood a good choice.

"He's a man who comes with high credentials,'' Oldham said. "We'll be able to work with him. There's no one I know with a resume like Dickie Arwood."

Oldham said Arwood earned the respect of the department's rank and file during his previous stint there.

"Morale will pick up, I guarantee you that,'' Oldham said. "He's a firefighter's firefighter. He takes care of business. His No. 1 thing is taking care of the men."