Greg Gammon appointed LV fire chief

Greg Gammon, a 23-year veteran of the Las Vegas Fire Department, has been appointed the department's new chief by City Manager Doug Selby.

The appointment must be ratified by the Las Vegas City Council and will be on the council's Jan. 9 agenda.

Gammon would replace former chief David Washington, who retired Oct. 1.

He wasn't on a list of six finalists released Nov. 5, but Gammon and Richard Gracia, also a Las Vegas deputy fire chief, were among the eight applicants -- out of 38 -- who were interviewed multiple times.

On Nov. 16, Selby said two finalists would go through a final round of interviews: Norm Angelo of the El Segundo, Calif., fire department, and North Las Vegas chief Al Gillespie.

They didn't do well in their final interviews, said Dean Fletcher, president of the Fire Department's union.

"They went around to the stations, they had a thing in the training center, and they had a panel with chiefs," he said. "It was not impressive, is, I think, something to say."

Department members are satisfied with the choice of Gammon, he said.

"I think that he'll do a good job," Fletcher said. "If there was going to be an internal candidate, he was by far the preferred choice."

In a prepared statement, Gammon said he looks forward "to leading a department that is regarded as one of the best in the world."

"I am humbled to be selected among such a wide array of qualified candidates," he said.

Gammon has been a firefighter, paramedic, captain, battalion chief, fire marshal, deputy chief of support services and deputy chief of operations. He was named senior deputy chief in December 2006, and is the city's representative on the state Homeland Security Commission.

Gammon's father, Richard, served the department for 32 years and retired in 1991 as deputy chief of operations.

Selby said Gammon's "commitment to serve the department and the city is absolute."

"I have no doubts or reservations about him being successful in enhancing the already excellent service and reputation of Las Vegas Fire and Rescue," Selby said in a written statement.