DC Assistant Fire Chief John Donnelly tabbed for top spot after Gregory Dean retirement

One day after Gregory Dean announced his retirement as D.C. fire chief, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that she had picked Assistant Fire Chief John Donnelly to replace him.

READ MORE: DC Fire Chief Gregory Dean retiring

Donnelly has been with the DC Fire and EMS since 1992.

Bowser said she consulted with Dean before picking Donnelly for position.

He's served on a number of local and national committees, including the International Association of Fire Chiefs Terrorism and Homeland Security Committee, as the Executive Director of the National Capitol Region Securing the City Program and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government’s Fire Chief’s Committee.

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Dean – who arrived in D.C. in 2015 after serving as Seattle’s fire chief – has five decades in fire service.

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During Friday's news conference, Bowser introduced Dean as "the best fire chief in the world."

Dean's appointment was the conclusion of a coast-to-coast search for a person to lead D.C.'s Fire and EMS operation.

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