East Texas

By BETTY WATERS
Staff Writer

HENDERSON -- Stepping up as Henderson's new fire chief, veteran firefighter Rusty Chote says he just wants Henderson Fire Department to keep growing and improving.

Coincidentally, the city council unanimously voted to promote Chote, 41, to fire chief as Chote started his 17th

year this week with the fire department.

"I was honored when I was hired as a firefighter in 1991, and I was real honored last night when they promoted me to be chief, starting Sept. 1," Chote said Wednesday.

Chote, who has served as deputy chief since January 2001, has been second in command a long time and was the obvious choice for chief, said City Manager Randall Freeman. Chote will succeed Fire Chief Dwayne Pirtle, who will retire Aug. 31.

"I've been Chief Pirtle's deputy fire chief seven years: I've learned a lot through him in different situations. I believe I've prepared myself," Chote said.

As chief, Chote will continue to also serve as the city's emergency management coordinator, a role he filled as deputy chief.

"The fire department has advanced in the last several years and we hope to keep on improving it," Chote said.

There won't be any major changes, according to the new chief, although he intends to select a new deputy chief to fill the vacancy created by his promotion to chief. He plans on selecting someone from within the department to be deputy chief.

Chote said he hopes he can use his new position to help the fire department and firefighters will be in the public's eye.

"We are going to stress firefighter safety. That's our No. 1 priority and we just want to be proactive within the community on fire inspections and fire prevention programs and grow and improve as a department," Chote said. "We have a good training program now; we hope to continue it."

Chote will head a fire department with a "combination" staff of 20 paid firefighters and approximately 20 volunteer firefighters. "We train together; we work together. The volunteers respond with the pay people, so that's the type fire department we are," Chote said.

The department has seven fire apparatuses -- one ladder truck, four Class A engines, a tanker and a brush truck. It also has two fire stations -- central fire station built about two years ago across from City Hall on West Main Street and Fire Station No. 2 on U.S. Highway 79, an older facility constructed in the 1950's or 60's but still in good shape.

The volunteers help the department handle a lot of calls from out in the county since the department contracts with Rusk County Emergency Services District to cover an area three to six miles outside the city of Henderson, Chote noted. The volunteers also respond to major motor vehicle accidents and structure fires within the city. Champion Emergency Services is also housed at Central Fire Station and the fire department runs first responder calls with Champion on major medicals calls inside the city, Chote said.

Chote was busy with personnel Wednesday making contingency plans to put into effect in the event Tropical Storm Gustav or hurricane refugees come into the area.

Chote says the fire that stands out more in his mind more than any other in his career was an incident when firefighters were able to go into a house on fire on East Lake View four or five years ago and rescue a grandmother and two young children. "They spent some time in a Dallas hospital, but they recovered," Chote said.

"I've met a lot of people and made a lot of friends in the fire service outside of Henderson with other departments," Chote said. "There's a lot more to it (firefighting) than what I knew when I started with the fire service."

In his younger years, Chote attended Kilgore College and Stephen F. Austin State University, but decided he wanted to pursue a career as a firefighter, changed gears and went to the Texas A&M University Fire Academy. "I was fortunate enough to get hired as a firefighter in my home town," Chote said.

Growing up, Chote recalls that he was attracted to firefighting by seeing firefighters as role models and their professionalism.

He was also drawn to fire service, Chote said, to be able to help people and by the part of firefighting that involves "never knowing what you are going to be doing from day to day. Every fire call is different; every emergency call is different."

CHIEF: Rusty Chote, shown with a tanker truck, will move up from deputy fire chief to fire chief of Henderson Fire Department on Sept. 1.
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