Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees is stepping down after 13-years at the helm. McNees, who has been a member of the force for the past 29 and-a-half years, says it was a difficult decision, but he felt it was time to step down as Fire Chief.
“What people don’t realize this job goes way beyond being on scene barking out orders,” said McNees. “There is a point we all reach where it’s time to move on and let somebody else handle this.”
McNees says he’s most proud of the way the culture of the Department has changed and evolved during his tenure. McNees says overall the department is as good as it has been in years. He says the change started during Chief Steve Curtis’s era and when McNees took over his goal was to keep that trajectory going in the right direction. “What we require and expect of them (department) has been raised and they accepted the challenge,” explained McNees. “And they have continued to train and respond to it,”