County Executive Steuart Pittman announced last week the appointment of the county’s first-ever woman permanent fire chief, selecting Spokane Fire Department Assistant Chief Trisha Wolford to head the county fire department. She will start early next year.

The appointment of Wolford is a homecoming. She began her fire service career in Anne Arundel County in 2006, serving for 10 years in the fire department as a firefighter, paramedic, company officer, arson and explosives investigator, internal investigator and tactical police medic.

Wolford said she moved to Anne Arundel County after college but knew she wanted to be a firefighter while growing up in Illinois.

“The fire department has always been a part of my family,” she said. “I was a little girl running around the fire station… I always knew I was going to be a firefighter.”

Fran Phillips, currently state deputy secretary of health, served as acting county fire chief for a brief period in 2004, according to the Maryland Department of Health.

Fire Chief Allan Graves, who was appointed by former county executive Steve Schuh, will retire on Dec. 31, a department spokesman said.

Wolford served under Graves and said she respected his 32 years on the job. The appointment of Wolford to be the next fire chief was one of four key personnel decisions announced Friday.

Former County Councilman Chris Trumbauer, one of the leaders of Pittman’s transition team, was named a senior adviser for policy and communications, and a longtime member of the budget office was named to head the agency on an interim basis.

Pittman also announced the retirement of Terry Kokolis as superintendent of county detention facilities. He will be replaced by William Martin, an administrator at the Jennifer Road Detention Center with 45 years of experience in detention and corrections, beginning Jan. 1.

The announcement comes less than a week after Kokolis’ staff ended active participation in the 287(g) immigration program, which had corrections officers screening inmates at the county jails for immigration violations. Pittman had announced plans to halt county participation, but his office said Kokolis’ department took the initiative after the county executive said he would do it in his inaugural address.

Jessica Leys, who’s worked in the county budget office for 19 years, will replace John Hammond heading the budget office. Hammond is retiring at the end of the year after 25 years of service to the county in a variety of roles, including terms as the chief administrative officer and as active county executive following the resignation of former county executive John Leopold in 2013.

Wolford was named assistant fire chief in Spokane in November 2017, the first time a woman had held the position. She previously worked as deputy fire chief in Bozeman, Montana.

She said she’s known for some time she wanted to come back, and actually left in part to get more experience. “When I left there, almost three years ago, it was to just be better … leader,” she said.

She currently serves as the chair of the Professional Development Committee of the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

“We needed a leader for this department with both institutional knowledge and a vision based on best practices across the country,” Pittman said in a statement. “Chief Wolford has all of that combined with a strong passion to serve the communities of Anne Arundel County.”

According to a report on the Spokane Fire Department’s website, the department operated on a $69 million budget in 2017.

Capt. Russ Davies, a spokesman for the Anne Arundel County Fire Department, said the county has 850 career firefighters and 450 volunteer firefighters. The command is divided among several volunteer companies and career firefighters.

Pittman was endorsed by the county firefighters’ union, the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1563. The 800-member union said it lacked confidence in Schuh’s commitment to financial support for the department.

Pittman spokeswoman Brandi Francis said she did not immediately know whether the county executive had spoken with union leaders prior to appointing Wolford. A call for comment from the union was not immediately returned. Francis said there were “numerous referrals” for fire chief considered, including some from within the department, but did not know how many candidates had been interviewed before Pittman chose Wolford.

Wolford returns at a time when the department is one of the front-facing agencies responding to a record-setting number of fatal opioid overdoses.

Fire stations now act as hubs for resources for those seeking addiction treatment through the county’s Safe Stations program, which is primed to be examined for statewide implementation as Schuh enters Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration to advise on opioid-related policies.

pdavis@capgaznews.com