Council approves interim fire chief

Amidst all of the hype around City Council’s approval of Brian Manley as permanent Austin police chief, leadership changes at the Fire Department have flown under the radar. On Thursday, Council also voted to approve the appointment of Austin Fire Department Chief of Staff Tom Dodds as interim fire chief. In brief remarks in support of Dodds’ candidacy, City Manager Spencer Cronk said he was confident that Dodds, who has been with the department for over 30 years and served as the No. 2 department official under outgoing Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr, would do an “extraordinary job.” The city manager has directed staff to hire a consulting firm to conduct a national search for candidates to be permanent fire chief, which could takes months. That is in contrast to the Manley appointment, which was made without soliciting applications, over the protests of many police accountability advocates.