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Clearwater Fire Chief In Running For Charleston, S.C., Job

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The Associated Press

Published: September 19, 2008

Jamie Geer

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston has narrowed its search for a new fire chief, and the field includes Fire Chief Jamie Geer of Clearwater Fire & Rescue.

Former Charleston Fire Chief Rusty Thomas retired in June, a year after nine firefighters died in a furniture store blaze.

The seven finalists are Geer; Richard Brannon, deputy chief of operations for the Mobile, Ala., fire department; Fire Chief Thomas Carr of the Montgomery County, Md., fire service; retired Dayton, Ohio, Fire Chief Larry Collins; Baltimore Fire Chief William Goodwin; Fire Chief Thomas Solberg of the Lee's Summit, Mo., fire department; and the retired public safety director of Wake County, N.C., John Rukavina.

The seven will be in Charleston on Monday to meet with city officials and the city council.

"Charleston presents a great opportunity to provide leadership to a excellent department, and one that's closer to my lifelong home," Geer says in a written statement from Clearwater's communications office.

"My candidacy is by no means a reflection of my feelings about Clearwater. I remain passionate about the work we've been doing to improve fire services here in Clearwater, and plan to continue that tradition of continuous improvement for as long as I am here with the city."

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