Texas Fire Chief - Fall/Winter 2007 - (Page 11)

Department in 1979. He was promoted to captain in 1983, the same year he married Ann. She was from Altus, Okla., and they met in Odessa. Chief Pollock has two children and three grandchildren. His daughter, Amber, a radiation therapist, has three children, Gage, Cadyn and Hudson. They live in Houston. Steve’s son, Jason, lives in San Diego and works with computers. Ann Pollock is a retired secretary. Steve earned an associate’s degree in fire science from Odessa College in 1989. He moved up to senior captain in 1994 and earned a bachelor’s degree in fire administration and management from Western Illinois University in 1995. One of the biggest adjustments in Steve’s career came in 1996, when he was promoted to assistant chief of operations. Going from shift work to fire administration suddenly required a broader view of the fire department as part of the city organization. He discovered that people in other city departments don’t understand much about the fire department, but he had to learn to work with them. He became immersed in budget and personnel issues. The assistant chief’s job had about a sixmonth learning curve. While serving as assistant chief, Steve attended the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy. After four years of going to Emmitsburg, Md., and writing EFO papers, he graduated in 2000. He was encouraged and supported in this effort by then-Odessa Fire Chief John Brown, now in Hurst. Brown was looking for Assistant Chief Pollock to be a change agent in the department, and he knew that task required a good education. Steve was named Odessa’s fire chief in 2000. Answering to the city manager, he headed the fire department and the Public Safety Communications Center. He was responsible for 200 employees and an annual budget of $12 million. This was the second big wakeup call in his career. Steve discovered that TEXAS FIRE CHIEF Fall/Winter 2007 everyone was expecting him to make decisions. He had to decide personnel issues, rule on code issues and deal with city politics, so the chief went back to school again. He enrolled in the graduate program in public administration at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas, southwest of Odessa and near Big Bend. He made the four-hour round trip for two years and earned a master’s degree in public administration in 2003. The next year, Steve retired from the Odessa Fire Department after 25 years of service and accepted the fire chief position in Cedar Hill. Moving to Cedar Park in 2004 was the third major change in Steve’s career. The environment in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is not at all like West Texas. Except for Midland, Odessa is out there alone, without much help around. Cedar Hill is in a regional fire-service context. 334924_IFSTA.indd 1 11 6/16/07 08:21:47 AM http://www.ifsta.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Texas Fire Chief - Fall/Winter 2007

Contents Executive Director’s Report Fire Chief of the Year What is an Emergency Service District (ESD)? Tax-Exempt Financing 101 The Benefits of Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) Southwest Fire Rescue 2008 Preview Membership Application ‘Courage to be Safe’ Program Aims to Save Lives Red Truck, Green Building Index to Advertisers

Texas Fire Chief - Fall/Winter 2007

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