NCCo. Fire creates group to improve vetting process for applicants

NCCo. has a new work group to improve its hiring process. (Photo by RITTER Dragonfly Dronography, from Good Will Fire Company Facebook)

A new subsection of the New Castle County Fire Service , aimed at improving the hiring process of its workers, has its members.

This week, the organization announced its appointments to the Service Membership/Employment Standards Working Group.

The need for the work group stems back to January after the reported arrest of Deputy Fire Chief of a New Castle County Fire Company, 39-year-old Dwayne Pearson, for raping a 15-year-old girl.

The defendant in the case has subsequently been found guilty and sentenced to decades in prison.

“Arrests of fire company personnel, paid or volunteer, are rare,” said Dennis Godek, chair of the New Castle County Fire and Ambulance Advisory Board. “This particular arrest for a violent crime resulted in us deciding that a review of hiring and membership standards, laws, and regulations, along with an evaluation of discipline practices, would provide the fire service the opportunity to ensure we are staffed with people of proper character to provide public safety services to the 511,000 people we serve.”

The new group consists of business and community leaders, fire and EMS service personnel, and current and former public officials.

The 14-person team will review membership requirements and vetting practices as well as hiring standards and requirements for all 21 combination paid/volunteer fire companies in the county.

Although each fire company already has hiring requirements and standards, the work group will recommend improvements, additions or revisions to ensure best practices are being followed.

They will also review all state laws and regulations that pertain to the fire/EMS service to ensure proper compliance by all companies.

“We, the leadership of the Fire/EMS Service in New Castle County acknowledge that all 21 fire companies strive to include only persons of character deserving of providing public service in their memberships and employee rolls,” the fire service said in a statement. “The appointment of the Working Group is an important effort to confirm that only those worthy of public trust become a part of, or remain, as firefighters and EMT’s.”

The team will have its inaugural meeting within the next few weeks and will meet on a regular basis with the intent to complete their work by early 2025.

“The fire companies are self-governed except for specific regulations and requirements administered by the State Fire Prevention Commission,” Godek said. “Convicted felons and those individuals convicted of certain sex crime misdemeanors and crimes involving children are prohibited  by state law from serving as firefighters or EMT’s. The Working Group will review each company’s hiring and membership policies, discipline procedures, and  compliance with applicable laws and regulations.”

Here’s who makes up the Service Membership/Employment Standards Working Group:

1. Dennis E. Greenhouse: Former Delaware State Auditor, New Castle County Executive and official in the Clinton Administration and the U.S. Department of Justice.
2. Christopher Kenny : President and Chief Executive Officer of Kenny Family ShopRites of Delaware. Kenny is also the owner of Delaware LIVE News.
3. Hugh Broomall : Deputy Superintendent of Red Clay Consolidated School District. He has many accomplishments as a classroom teacher, school principal and as a member of the district’s executive staff.
4. Diane McGinnis-Hainsworth : Section Chief for the State of Delaware, Emergency Medical Services and Preparedness.
5. Zanthea Nichols : Vice President of Business Development for Goodwill Industries of Southern NJ and Philadelphia.
6. Michael Shaw : New Castle County Fire and Ambulance Advisory board member and president of the Wilmington Manor Fire Company.
7. Robert Weber : New Castle County Fire and Ambulance Advisory board member and director of  the Volunteer Hose Co. Middletown.
8. Sharonda Spencer : Vice President of NCC Firefighters Association and a life member of the Belvedere Fire Co.
9. Gordon Edwards, III : Vice President of the NCC Fire Chiefs Association and Fire Chief of the Brandywine Hundred Fire Company.
10. Daniel Burris : Past president of the Volunteer Hose Co., Middletown and President of PHB General Contractors.
11. Charles Hayes : Past chief of Five Points Fire Company.
12. Sally Comella : Emergency Medical Technician at the Christiana Fire Company.
13. Jacob Mergenthaler : Firefighter at Goodwill Fire Company of New Castle.
14. Christine Reeder : President of the Delaware City Fire Co. Ladies Auxiliary.