Bristol Tennessee Fire Chief, Bob Barnes, recently announced promotional appointments to the positions of Fire Battalion Chief and Fire Lieutenant. A multi-component, highly competitive process measures qualifying candidates for each position in myriad competencies such as experience, knowledge, training, leadership, and education; the candidates are then rank ordered to establish promotional registers based upon performance oriented results.
Twenty-year fire department veteran, Alan Howard, earned appointment to the position of Battalion Chief and will be assigned as a shift commander with operational, management, and administrative duties. Howard began his career with the fire department in 1996 as a firefighter and earned promotion to Fire Sergeant in 2005. Two years later, Howard earned appointment to the rank of Fire Lieutenant and has performed in that capacity for the past nine years. Battalion Chief Howard resides in Bristol with his wife, Cindy, and their two children, Austin and Emily.
Nathan Johnson, who has served Bristol since 2008, has earned appointment to the rank of Fire Lieutenant. Johnson performed as a firefighter and emergency medical technician until becoming a nationally registered paramedic in 2010. For the past six years, Johnson has served the Bristol community as both firefighter and paramedic. In his new role, Lieutenant Johnson will have supervisory and training responsibilities while in charge of a fire station crew and he will be tasked also with officer level operational and supervisory duties at emergency scenes. Lieutenant Johnson and his wife, Shawna, reside in Meadowview, Virginia with their one-month old daughter, Brynnley.
Chief Barnes stated the appointments for both Howard and Johnson are effective as of October 3rd, and the department is confident that both men will provide exemplary service to the citizens of Bristol as they fulfill the expanded responsibilities commensurate with their new roles.
