Old North News

City of Whiteville recently issued the following announcement.

Meet the Chief: Whiteville Fire Department Chief David Yergeau

Whiteville Fire Department Chief David Yergeau

This Q and A is part of a “Meet the Chief” series that will profile each fire department’s chief in Columbus County. This is the first installment.

1. How long have you been involved with firefighting?

45 years. Almost 10 years here in Whiteville.

2. Where did you get your firefighting training? 

I started in Mecklenburg County with a volunteer department there. 

3. What got you interested in firefighting?

I passed by the volunteer department every day, and I stopped by to talk to them. It seemed like something I’d be interested in doing, and it just went from there.

4. What kind of training did you go through to become a firefighter?

Since I started working in a volunteer department, I left there to work for the City of Charlotte. They sent me through a recruiting school that lasted about six months.

5. What is the biggest challenge with being the fire chief in Whiteville?

Reduced staffing and bringing the department up to speed on where they’re supposed to be with bringing it into the 21st century technology-wise.

6. What is the most rewarding part of the being the fire chief?

The camaraderie. You can count on everyone here when you need them. And the growth this department has shown.

7. Other than being fire chief, what other responsibilities do you have?

Since I have no administrative staff except me, I’m what you would consider operations chief. I go to a lot of structure fires and wrecks with injuries, where we set up command structure so that we have someone in charge and usually two to three people on duty with an extra person to run the scene while they do the work. 

8. How do you balance your role as fire chief with the rest of your life?

I’ve been doing it so long, my family is used to it with coming home late and my kids growing up around it.

9. What do you like to do in your free time?

I like to watch sports – mainly football and baseball games – and work outside in the yard.

AUGUST 5, 2020Original source: https://whitevillenc.gov/news/2020/8/5/meet-the-chief-whiteville-fire-department-chief-david-yergeau