Lincoln fire chief resigns post Williams quits after 5 months citing clash with police official

LINCOLN – Citing turbulent relations with the police chief, Fire Chief Joshua L. Williams resigned effective Monday after five months on the job.

While he said he had a generally good working relationship with Town Manager Glenn Aho, Williams said Monday he believes Police Chief Hank Dusenberry’s attitude toward the Fire Department was poor.

“He was very difficult to work with,” Williams said. “He didn’t treat me or the firefighters with any respect. A lot of it was attitude.”

“I don’t want to get into it specifically,” Williams said.

Dusenberry was off Monday and did not immediately return messages seeking comment that were left at the Lincoln Public Safety Building, which the Fire and Police departments share.

Williams, 31, was hired on Sept. 6. He was a captain in charge of training for the Sublimity Fire District in Sublimity, Ore., for most of his 10 years in that department.

“My issues aren’t with the firemen, the call people or the union,” Williams said. “I have gotten a lot of support from them. On my last day I had most of the firemen come in and said that they appreciated why I was leaving and they were sad to see me go.”

It would be unfair to blame Dusenberry for Williams’ leaving, Aho said.

Williams and Dusenberry might not have gotten along well, but both are equals within the town’s public safety management structure and were treated that way. Aho met with both and firefighters several times and found no cause for disciplinary action, he said.

“I can’t make people get along. My concern is public service, public safety and our residents,” Aho said.

Williams, who briefly resigned about two weeks ago, was uncomfortable with the public safety dispatching system, the mixed police-fire station, and, like any new department manager, had a considerable learning curve to traverse, especially coming from the West Coast with no previous experience as a chief, Aho said.

Aho wrote Williams a letter dated Friday that praised him for his hard work and the projects Williams accomplished. The projects include the purchase of a tanker truck, consistent weekly training and certification courses for firefighters, and a proposed management plan that Aho said made sense, but didn’t choose to implement.

“Admittedly, this position has its ‘challenges’ that even I’m not sure if a veteran fire chief could have addressed within the state’s probationary law timeline,” Aho wrote. “Our situation is unique and there is a reason for that; it doesn’t always work. However, you have run a marathon this past five months or so learning what’s necessary to implement management systems to address our circumstances.

“You are a quality person with great integrity. Knowing one’s limitations is honorable and I admire the decision you have made. I know it must have been difficult,” he added. “Going forward, I will have to re-evaluate the department’s circumstances and address them differently next time.”