The Georgia department where three firefighters were injured in a failure of an aerial last month has a new person at the helm.
Hall County Fire Chief David Kimbrell has been relieved of command over fire services but will retain his post as Emergency Management Agency director, The Gainesville Times reported Monday afternoon.
Jeff Hood has been named interim fire chief.
"I am anxious to find the cause of the truck accident more than anyone," Kimbrell wrote in an internal email this morning obtained by The Times. "I look forward to what (the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) finds when they come in to do their investigation, and the final report of the county and their investigation. Hopefully, that will prevent this from ever happening somewhere else and will prevent this from happening here again."
Hall County Administrator Randy Knighton said placing one person over each agency will allow Hood and Kimbrell to focus more fully on their specific areas of expertise and increase the safety of and service to Hall County citizens.
After the incident, the truck manufacturer issued an immediate recall.
Firefighters TJ Elliott, Stephen Jackson and Will Griffin were seriously injured when the bucket retracted 44 feet.
Elliott and Jackson were both airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, while Griffin was treated at Northeast Georgia Medical Center.
