Dallas Chief Leaving for Higher Education

Oct. 17 -- After a little more than two years on the job, Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief David Coatney appears to be headed for the exit.

Coatney on Tuesday was named the sole finalist to become director of the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, also known as TEEX. State law requires the university and Coatney — who officials say energized the Dallas department and made major strides in promoting safety measures — wait 21 days before making the deal official.

Coatney said the position, for which he was recruited to apply, was too good to pass up — even though "the timing of this was horrible." He bought a house last year in Dallas, thinking he'd be in North Texas for a while.

"I really planned to stay here five to seven years," Coatney said. "But my leadership team, they're in a position where any of them could take the helm right now."

At Texas A&M, Coatney will direct an agency that offers workforce training, including for public safety employees. The extension service also oversees Texas Task Force 1, a statewide urban search-and-rescue team and one of 28 federal teams under the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp said in a news release that TEEX is the university's "best kept secret."

Coatney said applying for the job was a difficult decision. He joined Dallas Fire-Rescue in 2016 after five years as Round Rock's chief and about 25 years in San Antonio. 

In Dallas, he was something of a surprise pick in a field that included four internal candidates, each of whom had constituencies within the 2,000-employee department or supporters inside City Hall. 

But Coatney quickly won over city leaders with what his supporters called a straightforward nature and inclusive style. He took fire associations' input on major decisions. He pushed for safety measures to prevent injuries and illnesses. And he made one of the internal competitors for the job, Ted Padgett, his chief of staff. Padgett last year affectionately described Coatney as "a big kid that loves the fire service."

Another one of the former internal candidates, Daniel Salazar, said Tuesday that former City Manager A.C. Gonzalez made the right choice hiring Coatney.

"When he came in, he kind of pointed us in a different direction," Salazar said. "He brought a different approach to critical thinking that I think was lacking over the years. He got us all marching in the direction that we needed to be going. 

"We're going to miss him, that's for dang sure."

Jim McDade, president of the Dallas Fire Fighters Association, initially reacted to Coatney's departure with a four-letter expletive. He then chose something tamer: "Unfortunate."

"He was an amazing leader and a great chief and somebody we were all looking forward to working with for many years to come," McDade said.

McDade said that before Coatney, the department was "stagnant" and "did not have a direction." The department also had been shaken by the 2013 death of firefighter Stan Wilson. Investigations into the line-of-duty death exposed long-running problems in the department's fire operations.

Coatney pushed for changes and had buy-in from city officials, though association leaders said his decisions didn't always sit well with older firefighters. The chief said Dallas Fire-Rescue "was a good department with a lot of really great people employed by it that just got comfortable in its own skin."

Coatney also oversaw the department as firefighters quit in droves while the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System's financial situation crumbled. But last fiscal year, the department met an ambitious hiring goal and added 264 firefighters.

Coatney pushed for a new staffing model and more ambulances to reduce strain on emergency medical personnel, whose call loads have steadily risen over the years.

Public Safety & Criminal Justice Committee Chairman Adam McGough said in a written statement that Coatney "has been a great chief for Dallas."

"I always knew I could go to Chief Coatney and we could work through any issue," McGough said. "He fought for this department and this city."

Mayor Mike Rawlings said in a written statement that the city will miss Coatney, who he called “a strong leader who won the respect of his firefighters and citizens.”

City leaders will now have to decide how to replace Coatney. McDade said choosing an internal candidate would be "the absolute best decision."

Assistant City Manager Jon Fortune, who oversees public safety, said city leaders haven't yet decided how to proceed. But he said the next chief's challenge will be to maintain Coatney's momentum.

"I have heard a lot of feedback from people over the last few months just how excited they are with the direction the department is going," Fortune said.

Staff writer Corbett Smith contributed to this report.

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