Longtime FL Fire Chief Stepping Down

Aug. 22 -- Mike Beadle, Palm Coast's longtime fire chief, will be retiring in September and his second-in-command, Gerard "Jerry" Forte, will take the reins of the department, city officials announced Tuesday.

City Manager Jim Landon formally appointed Forte, currently the deputy fire chief, to take over in Beadle's stead during Tuesday's City Council meeting. Forte got choked up as he spoke about his close friend Beadle, who stood beside him.

"It's been an honor and a privilege to work with my friend, my mentor and my brother, Mike, who we're going to miss a lot," Forte said through tears. "He has been in my life for the last 30 years, through the great times and in the most difficult times. And no one knows how much he means to everybody in our department, and the legacy that he's leaving behind is in the employees and the people that are here because they want to be here. And I just can't thank him enough for the example that he's set."

Beadle, 59, took over the fire department in September 2000 during the city's infancy, becoming its first fire chief about nine months after the city was incorporated. He was not a newcomer.

Beadle, a New Jersey native, began his career as a police officer and volunteer firefighter in the Garden State. He moved to Palm Coast in 1987 and became a volunteer firefighter for the Palm Coast Fire District a year later. He later became a full-time fire district employee and worked his way up the ranks, eventually becoming an acting chief in 1998.

Over the past 30 years, Beadle said he's watched fire operations in Palm Coast grow. The city's fire department expanded services to include advanced life support and added a firefighter internship program under his tenure as chief. It's also grown from two to five stations and now includes a team of 57 career employees and more than 50 volunteer firefighters, fire police and associates.

"Great people," Beadle said. "It was fun watching the city grow and be a part of it."

Beadle is currently paid $118,924 annually. His last day as chief will be Sept. 27.

Forte, 50, grew up in New York and moved to Florida with his family in 1990. He mowed lawns and made pizzas for his first nine months until his brother recruited him to attend "fire school," a city press release indicates. Forte became a volunteer firefighter in 1990 and was hired full time as a firefighter/EMT in September 1992. He was named the department's deputy fire chief in 2009. His annual salary is $98,292

Landon got choked up as well during the passing of the mantle Tuesday just before making the announcement about Forte's promotion.

"I have watched Jerry grow in his career, both in his skills and in assisting chief Beadle with the development of the fire department," Landon said in a prepared statement. "I have watched him grow into a strong leader. The working relationship between our fire chief and deputy chief has allowed for not just a smooth transition, but also one through which the department has grown stronger over the past few years. All of that led to a very easy decision to appoint Jerry as the next Palm Coast fire chief."

Beadle said the department has worked on a succession plan to have Forte supplant him as fire chief for about 10 years. He said he was thankful for the support he got from the community over the years and from city officials who always provided him with the equipment his team needed.

"It's a big step," Beadle said. "I've been here since before we became a city. It's just time. Like everything, you've got to make changes and my time's come."

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