JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – On Monday, Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan officially announced that Percy Golden will become the next fire chief for the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, replacing Chief Keith Powers after 29 years of service.
RELATED: Percy Golden selected as next fire chief of Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department
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Before Monday’s announcement, News4JAX spoke with Chief Powers about his transition into retirement, and if he had any input or provided any recommendations to the mayor as to who should become JFRD’s next leader.
Throughout the conversation, Chief Powers continuously talked about “the team”... and how even though the focus today may be on him as outgoing fire chief, and the new, incoming fire chief, that it’s the men and women throughout the department who are saving lives and property every day, and are the reasons why the department is one of the top in the nation.
However, he made it his priority to make sure that his voice was not one that was considered when the announcement of a new fire chief was made.
“Let me be very clear, I don’t know who it is,” Powers said. “One thing I asked Mayor Deegan when we were going to go public with the announcement...I told her that I did not want to be involved in that, and I have not been involved in it whatsoever.”
Powers explained the thought process behind his decision, citing the expansive network of former fire chiefs as the primary reasoning, and not wanting to cause potential tension between himself and whoever the mayor ultimately decides to fill the position.
“There is a fraternity of former fire chiefs who are out there,” Powers notes. “And as a fire chief, you can pick up the phone and call any of them for help, and they have always been there to give me support and help, and I’ve used them a lot...I felt like if I got involved in the selection process and I recommended this person and the mayor went with someone else, then [the mayor’s selection] may not have the comfort in calling me [and] asking for help or for anything that they need.”
Powers adds that he will find out who the next chief is, along with everyone else, at Deegan’s news conference on Monday at 4 p.m., which was where she announced that Percy Golden was selected for the position.
Regarding retirement, the now-former fire chief said he’s ready for the transition, adding that when he informed his wife of the decision, he was more ready than she was.
“It’s 24/7,” Powers says, describing some of the challenges a fire chief faces. “[The] phone rings all day and night, things are happening all the time...[My wife] is home by herself, so she’s ready.”
He says he’s also looking forward to spending more time with his 3-year-old grandson, someone he refers to as “the light of my life.”
When asked what he’ll miss the most about being a fire chief, he quickly pointed to “the troops” whom he had the pleasure of working with daily.
“[JFRD] is the first for a lot of things in this industry,” Powers said. “And it’s because of what the men and women [who work here] have done and what they do every day...Whether it’s being exposed to downed power lines, or being exposed to stuff that happens in structure fires, accidentally getting stuck with a dirty needle and taking it home to their families...the men and women in this department are unbelievable.”
The full conversation with Chief Powers can be watched below.