Clay Wood Resigns As Taylor Fire Chief

By Naomi Hatch
   For 15 years Clay Wood has served the Town of Taylor, including the past 12 as fire chief.
   “In his time as Chief he has turned a volunteer department into a professional department through hard work, and I don’t know how he is going to be replaced,” said Town Manager Eric Duthie.
   Wood tendered his resignation June 24, and his last day is Friday, July 10. He has taken a position as battalion chief over training with the Show Low Fire Department.
   “The testing process was very grueling,” said Wood. “I was competing with guys from Phoenix, Mesa, Sierra Vista and Tucson.” He explained that there were eight assessments they went through, with evaluators coming from throughout the state.
   “This is home, and to go work in another community was really a hard choice to make, but Show Low Fire is very progressive,” said Wood, who will go from a department with 20 to 30, to working with 20 career fire fighters. “That’s a unique opportunity for me. I’m excited.”
   The chief recalled, “When I got here we had five bays and had outgrown that, so we added two bays to the east,” noting that the project was accomplished with volunteer labor. Approximately five years later, Wood, Emergency Services Director Clint Burden and many volunteers added the back portion of the fire station, increasing the conference room size, and adding administrative offices and second story living quarters for the full-time crew at a cost to the town of $169,000. They poured the concrete for the driveway with volunteer help, and Wood oversaw the construction of the addition to town hall until Jeff Johnson was hired as building official.
   “When I took over there were about 14 certified fire fighters and now we have 25 certified with five recruits,” he noted.
   Wood brought in about $900,000 in grant funding over the years, and certified some of his crew as wildland firefighters, then brought in approximately $500,000 in funding from fighting wildland fires throughout the country, including three times in California.
   During Wood’s tenure as fire chief the department purchased or built five new fire trucks, including the ladder truck. He noted that they rebuilt some of them, begging, borrowing and stealing what they could to build the fire trucks.
   Wood was a moving force in bringing the Northern Arizona Training Center to Taylor and will continue to be involved with it, since he is taking over the training function in Show Low.
   During Wood’s tenure he was able to lower the Insurance Service Office (ISO) rating from 7 to 6, which brings down the cost of residents’ insurance. The town is undergoing another evaluation and officials hope that with the hard work from the fire department, the rating will drop to 5 or perhaps as low as 4.
   Wood said that they recently began the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), a volunteer community group that responds to various needs in the community and assists emergency services, and he hopes that continues to progress.
   Though Wood resigned from the chief position, but will still be an advisor to Taylor Fire.
   Through the years he has served on many committees as a representative of the Taylor Fire Department. He was a member of the Arizona Fire Training Committee, chairman of the Northeast Arizona Safety Officer Section, chairman of the Northeastern Arizona Training Center and chairman of the Northeastern Arizona Fire Chiefs Association. He has been involved in the Northland Pioneer College Fire Science Advisory Committee and is an instructor for NPC, as well as a certified instructor for the Arizona Fire Marshal’s Office. He recently graduated from Grand Canyon University with a bachelor’s degree in public safety administration. He has attended the National Fire Academy in Maryland three times through grants, as well as numerous Homeland Security classes, and is involved heavily in wildland fire training.
   “I appreciate all Taylor has done for me,” said Wood, adding, “To be successful you have to surround yourself with good people.”
   Duthie announced that Wood will not be replaced due to the current budget problems. The TFD and Emergency Services will be under the direction of Clint Burden, who has been the ambulance director.
   Burden has previous experience as a fireman in the late 1980s, but said, “I’m a little worried. “I’ve got reservations. I never planned to be a fire chief, but I’m getting more excited about it the more I think about it. I have big shoes to fill, though. Of course, my love has been paramedicine, but this is a new opportunity. It’s going to be a challenge and a lot of fun.”
   Burden noted that Wood built the fire department up, as well as getting necessary equipment. “He’s really been an awesome leader. He’s a born leader, there’s no doubt. I will depend heavily on his captains to keep the best volunteer department on the mountain,” said Burdern. “I hope we can continue to build our relationship with Snowflake.”
   “Clay has been a great asset to the town and especially the fire department for many years,” said Mayor John Cole. “We greatly appreciate his service and commitment, and the support his family has shown him while he served as our fire chief. We wish him the very best in his future endeavors.”