News

City fire chief leaving for Greer, S.C.

Chief Dorian Flowers

By Bill Moss, Published: April 2, 2015

Hendersonville Fire Chief Dorian Flowers is leaving to become fire chief of Greer, S.C., City Manager John Connet announced today.

"My emotions are mixed due to the fact that I am happy for Dorian and his family as they start a new adventure, but I am saddened for the loss of leadership Dorian brought to the Hendersonville Fire Department. We wish Chief Flowers well in his future endeavors." Connet said in a statement.

Fire chief here since 2011, Flowers has more than 23 years of experience with the fire service including service the Ogden Fire Department (1991-1997) and the City of Wilmington Fire Department (1997-1998), both in Wilmington, NC. He beame a captain at the New Hanover County Fire Department (1998-2011)  before being named chief here.

Flowers also holds multiple certifications as Fire Instructor; Fire Officer; Firefighter; Haz-Mat Technician; Technical Rescuer; Vehicle Machinery Rescue; Surface Water Rescue; Structural Collapse; Trench; Confined Space; and Ropes. He is certified as an EMT Basic and Fire Inspector I. He also has specialized training in ESRI ArcGIS Mapping and CPSE Data Analysis.

He holds a master of public administration degree with a concentration in fire service administration. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and an Associates in Applied Science in Fire Science Technology. He recently completed his third year in the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program and is working towards his Chief Fire Officer Designation through the Center for Public Safety Excellence.

"I appreciate the opportunity Hendersonville provided me to serve as their Fire Chief," he said in a news release. "I enjoyed working with the city of Hendersonville and getting to know the employees and citizens."

He added: "During my tenure I am proud of the accomplishments we made. A new fire station was built and is operating as expected, and we made improvements in technology and equipment. Professional development was a key goal for the department and increased awareness of professionalism was achieved with additional staff training and education."

Flowers was selected from a field of 75 applicants from across the Carolinas and Southeast. "We utilized an extensive screening and selection process," said Ed Driggers, City Administrator for Greer. "I kept our elected officials informed throughout our process and utilized an independent panel of professional firefighters, Fire Chiefs, and public employment professionals to assist with screening," he said. "Our current Fire Chief, Chris Harvey, has done an outstanding job of leading the Greer Fire Department. I believe Chief Flowers will continue and expand the high level of service our community has come to expect."

Flowers will begin service at the Greer Fire Department on Monday, April 27. He will assume command of the department upon Harvey's retirement on May 1.

City Manager, Connet, stated that "he will begin discussions with the Fire Department to establish interim leadership responsibilities and then begin the search for the next Hendersonville Fire Chief."