In late June, Douglas County Fire/EMS got a new boss, a name well known to all in the Fire/EMS department. Mark Walker, who has been with the department since 1987, is replacing retiring chief David Earl Brown. Walker got his start at Fire Station #3 in Bill Arp and has advanced in his career since, making Captain in 2012 and now Chief in 2015. Below is a press release sent to us from Douglas County Happenings with Walker’s full bio:
***MARK WALKER NAMED DOUGLAS COUNTY FIRE/EMS DIVISION CHIEF***
Mark Walker has been named Division Chief for the Douglas County Fire/EMS Department, replacing the retired David Earl Brown. Chief Walker has been with the Department since 1987 when he joined as a Firefighter in Station No. 3, Kilroy Lane in Bill Arp. He has progressed through his career earning Smoke Diver Certification (1990), Emergency Medical Technician (1991), Captain (2012), and now Division Chief.
Division Chief Walker now supervises the Department’s “B” shift, one of three 24-hour shifts of the Douglas County Fire/EMS Service. All station personnel serve 24 hours on/48 hours off. “A” shift is supervised by Division Chief Britt Worthan, and “C” shift is supervised by Division Chief Vick Welch. The Division Chiefs report to Fire Chief Scott Spencer. The Division Chiefs are headquartered at Fire Station No. 10 in downtown Douglasville.
Chief Walker has spent 28 years as a professional with the Douglas County Fire/EMS Department. His first call as a firefighter was taking care of a child with burns, and he knew then that being a firefighter was important. It is in his blood – his grandfather was a fireman for the City of Marietta. His Smoke Diver Certification was important to him to earn since it places high importance on firefighter conditioning, which he stresses as Division Chief.
Chief Walker said that the biggest change in his new duties is the amount of administrative work for which he is now responsible. Each Division Chief manages all ten fire stations during his shift; schedules and coordinates the training of the staff; and serves as incident commander for most of the occurrences during his shift. He stated that being Division Chief is a “lot of responsibility” but that “taking care of all the citizens is his first priority”. A Division Chief must ensure that the correct staff and equipment respond to each emergency situation. He stated that “he was honored to be selected from his peers as Division Chief”.
Chief Walker is a native of Mableton, but has lived in Douglas County most of his life. He is a graduate of Douglas County High School. He is married to Michelle Walker. He has three children: Ellison, a recent graduate from Berry College; Alex, a student at Alexander High School; and Lexi, a star swimmer. His family said that they are “proud and happy” for his promotion to Division Chief.
Congrats to Mark Walker from all of us at The City Menus and The wonderful community you serve!
Thanks to Wes Tallon for the press release and information.
