CA Chief Retires, Deputy Takes Reins
By Thaddeus Miller
Source Merced Sun-Star (Merced, Calif.)
Nov. 27 -- Another Merced fire chief has abruptly retired, leading the city to name an interim through the holidays until a search for a new leader can begin.
Merced City Fire Chief Michael Wilkinson suddenly retired Monday evening, according to a news release from the city of Merced. Deputy Fire Chief Billy Alcorn was named as the interim chief through at least the end of the year.
Wilkinson had served as the interim fire chief and fire marshal between 2014 and 2016. He took over the full-time position in November 2016. Wilkinson replaced Chief Shawn Henry, who also abruptly retired two months earlier. Alcorn was an interim chief during that time as well.
Alcorn started in Merced in 2004 as a firefighter and worked his way up the ranks of the Fire Department, becoming the deputy fire chief in 2015, according to the news release.
He has a bachelor’s degree in fire administration and is a graduate of the executive fire officer program at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland, according to the news release.
A national search for the next fire chief will begin after the holidays, the city said in a news release.
The pay for a fire chief in Merced is $146,775 annually plus benefits, according to the city’s salary schedule.
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