Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect Susanna Schmitt Williams resigned from her role as fire chief in 2019 and a lawsuit against the Town of Carrboro was resolved. A previous version said Williams was fired and the results of the lawsuit were unclear.


Carrboro Fire Chief David Schmidt is set to leave the department, the town government announced on Tuesday.

A release from Carrboro said Schmidt, who joined the department less than three years ago, is going to step down in August to move to Illinois to be with family. The recruitment of candidates for the permanent role of fire chief is reportedly already underway.

Carrboro hired Schmidt in January 2020 after he retired from the same role at Elgin Fire Department in Illinois, just west of downtown Chicago. Schmidt told Chapelboro he moved to North Carolina to be closer to a family member who was attending medical school in Tennessee. Now, however, that family member is headed back to Schmidt’s home state.

“Our goal has always been [be] close to be family,” he said, “and that’s why we came down, so it’s only natural that we go back up. The family also understood the work I had started here and they wanted to make sure it was at a place where I was ready to go.”

Schmidt praised the firefighters with the Carrboro department, saying it “has truly been an honor and privilege to lead such an outstanding group of men and women.” He said his early expectations for the job shifted greatly when the COVID-19 pandemic ramped up in 2020 and the fire department had slower periods — both from firefighters protecting their health and residents being safe while staying home more often. Schmidt served as the emergency manager for the town’s response and the fire department became a key distribution center for masks and, later, volunteers for the local food distributions.

The chief said during those months, he was struck by not only the department firefighters’ service to the community but by their creativity. He cited the Carrboro Fire car seat coordinator’s quick thinking for talking with parents in line at food events to double-check and share tips about car seat safety.

“So, toward the end of food distributions, we would start to walk through the lines and just talk with people,” said Schmidt. “We fixed and adjusted numerous car seats and supplied numerous car seats to people who didn’t have one or had the wrong size for the child. The dedication of the men and women in the Carrboro Fire Department is truly amazing.”

Schmidt said one of the things he will take with him from his time with the town is the cooperation within the department to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and its various challenges. He described the teamwork was “gratifying.”

Carrboro Town Manager Richard White III said in Tuesday’s release Deputy Chief Carl Freeman will be named to the interim role while a search for candidates is conducted.

“Deputy Chief Freeman has been employed at the Carrboro Fire-Rescue Department for more than 30 years,” said White. “I am certain that his knowledge and experience will continue to be huge assets to the department and the community during this interim period while he leads the department.”

“Chief Schmidt has done a fantastic job as both fire chief and emergency manager for the Town of Carrboro during the COVID-19 pandemic,” added the town manager. “I wish Chief Schmidt and his family all the best as they return home.”

The town government hired Schmidt after the previous long-term fire chief, Susanna Schmitt Williams, resigned in July 2019. Williams later told The Associated Press she was “the subject of sexualized rumors [and] hostility in the form of insubordination by those who reported to me.” She pointed to alleged actions of former Carrboro Town Manager David Andrews, claiming he relied on the accounts of lower-ranked male officials in the fire department instead of her own disciplinary decisions.

Williams confirmed to Chapelboro the lawsuit was ultimately settled. Andrews retired from his role as town manager in 2021.

The Carrboro Fire Department, which has operated since 1927, staffs two engine companies and one truck company across two fire stations in town. The local government reports the department has 37 full-time employees.

To read the Town of Carrboro’s release announcing Schmidt’s departure, visit its website.

 

Photo via the Town of Carrboro.


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