Erlanger’s new head of the Fire/EMS Department
Rodney Godsey was sworn in as fire/EMS chief for the city of Erlanger last month, bringing 38 years of experience in the field. Godsey grew up in Hebron and began as a volunteer for the Point Place fire department. After spending four years in the U.S. Navy, Godsey began working in a paid capacity for Point Place, and later at CVG Airport Fire Department. He spent 20 years at CVG, rising through the ranks to become battalion chief. After taking some time off, Godsey was approached to join the Erlanger fire department, and was promoted to lieutenant. When the position of fire chief opened up, Godsey says he met all of the credentials.
Tell us a little about the department.
Right now the department is made up of three shifts. And then we’ve got five command staff, and one secretary. Currently we are a fairly young department. We’ve got a lot of younger guys, kind of fresh into the fire service. We’ll definitely key into those people, look into keeping the department up with new procedures and technology. We try and stay up with that very much. We really want to stay on the cutting-edge side of things while still remembering the traditions.
Why did the position of fire chief interest you? What made you apply?
I think ultimately, it was wanting to do better for the department. I felt I had some thoughts and ideas that I could definitely contribute to the department, and I really had a strong drive at that point. I never knew if I would ever do something like this, and when the position came up, I spoke with my wife, who’s the boss… and she was 100% supportive of my decision. So really the big thing was I felt I could make some major positive impacts at the department.
What are your main priorities and goals for the department? What would you like to see happen?
As of right now, I’m not one of those to jump in and make a ton of big changes. The biggest thing I see that I can improve is recruitment and retention. That is probably my biggest concern right now. The pool of firefighters and EMTs in the Tristate area is just not what it used to be. You just don’t have the same pool as when I joined. I sat with 300 people taking a test, and now departments are lucky to get 25 applicants. I think we fail to market ourselves and we’re starting to feel that.
Any last remarks?
The biggest thing I always say is that I thank Erlanger for the chance to lead this department and to be in this position. And it’s something I told them the night I was sworn in, you know if you truly put your heart into something, the mind and body will follow.
