'I just wanted to help people' Leon Henderson officially promoted to Akron fire chief

On Tuesday, Akron's new fire chief was officially promoted into the position.

Leon Henderson, who was sworn in as Akron's newest fire chief in June, was joined by friends, family and colleagues at the Akron Civic Theatre's Knight Stage for the promotion ceremony.

Akron Mayor Shammas Malik called the day one of "excitement and new beginnings."

"Chief Henderson is a well-known and established member of our community," Malik said. "He has served the Akron Fire Department for 34 years, beginning his career as a firefighter and paramedic as 1990. I knew Chief Henderson as district chief during my time on council, and I'm thrilled to see his resilient discipline and purposeful mindset guide him through his leadership and uplift him through the ranks."

Henderson said that when he started out with the department, he didn't pursue becoming chief.

"It really didn't mean anything to me," he said. "I just wanted to help people."

Henderson said that, as chief, he was going to help deliver on Malik's vision of meaningful change outlined during the state of the city address in April.

After the ceremony, Henderson elaborated on his comments, saying the department needs to diversify its recruiting efforts and promotions process.

He plans to address those issues by analyzing what internal policies can be changed and examining lateral hires. The mayor, he said, was exploring how to change the charter to allow for external hires into leadership roles.

"I am the only chief in all of Summit County — not just the chief of a department, but any level of chief in all of Summit County — the only Black," Henderson said. "There lies the problem."

Contact Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com or 330-541-9413