Interim Fire Chief Named For Fairfax County

Assistant Fire Chief John Caussin will become interim chief of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department on April 30 as Fire Chief Richard Bowers Jr. retires.

Caussin, a certified paramedic and a sworn assistant fire marshal, has been with the department since 1985. He became assistant fire chief for personnel services in 2006, assistant fire chief for emergency operations from 2010 to 2015, and currently serves as the assistant fire chief of business services.

He is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Fire Fighters and the Virginia Fire Chiefs Association and the National Fire Protection Association, where he serves on the Technical Committee on Fire and Emergency Service Organization and Deployment. Caussin graduated from the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program.

The county is in the midst of recruiting a new fire chief. Applications will be accepted through May, and the position should be filled by early summer.

"We are confident in John’s ability to lead the department and maintain its excellent record of life saving service to the county during this transition," said County Executive Bryan Hill in a statement. "We are making progress in our efforts to identify a new Fire and Rescue Chief, as our focus remains on the future of our great department."

Bowers's retirement announcement came amid new criticism of the fire department's work environment. Mittendorff's 2016 suicide sparked a conversation on how the fire department handles sexual harassment after it was revealed firefighters allegedly cyberbullied her in online comments. The issue resurfaced this January when Battalion Chief Kathleen Stanley resigned as Women’s Programs Office, alleging the department has not improved since Mittendorff's suicide. Stanley and Mittendorff's widowed husband Steve Mittendorff called for leadership changes at the fire department.

A county investigation into Stanley's allegations ultimately defended the department's efforts to stop bullying and sexual harassment. The report addressed the allegations, point by point, and David Rohrer, the deputy county executive for public safety met with Stanley in February to hear her concerns.

The county is also weighing recommendations from 10 working groups that examined the fire department's organizational climate. Part of that organizational change could be driven by the new fire chief.

SEE ALSO:

• Fairfax County Says It's Stopping Bullying In Fire Department
  
• Fairfax Fire Chief To Retire Amid Claims Against Department
• Widower Of Bullied Firefighter Demands Fire Chief's Resignation
• Battalion Chief Resigns Over Unchanging Harassment Policies

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Additional reporting by Patch editor Chris Gaudet