9/17/2009 6:13:00 PM MRFD puts assistant chief applicants to the test
VVN/Steve Ayers
The five candidates applying for the new assistant chief's position with Montezuma-Rimrock Fire District are (from left): Gary Jordan (Niceville Fla.), David Stone (Drexel Heights FD, Tucson), Ronny Gibson (retired, City of Casa Grande FD), Dave Neihuis (Sun Lakes FD) and Mark Dixon (Verde Valley FD).
Verde Valley Fire District Capt. Mark Dixon dispatches the department's resources as he establishes command of a simulated eight-vehicle crash site on Interstate 17.
RIMROCK - Sorting out the dead, the dying and those who can wait, at a multi-vehicle traffic accident, is Mark Dixon's job.
As a captain and paramedic for the Verde Valley Fire District, he has had his share of such situations. Sometimes it's easy to get his hands around the accident scene -- to evaluate and take command in a timely and appropriate manner. Other times it's chaos.
But he can usually count on one thing -- lives will be at stake.
Wednesday morning he was once again called to the scene of an eight-car pile-up and asked to bring order to chaos. The only difference this time was, no one's wellbeing was at stake -- unless of course you include Dixon's career.
This time he was participating in a mock exercise, designed to see how he might react during the real thing.
Like the four other veteran firefighters who went through the exercise, Dixon was vying for the position of assistant chief with the Montezuma Rimrock Fire District.
Last July, after almost three years waiting, Chief Michael Van Dyke received an OK from his board of directors to hire an assistant. With a second fire station in the pipeline, increased demands on his time and a service area that continues to grow, it was a timely decision.
The hard part now, as Van Dyke will tell you, is finding the right person to fill the job.
To increase the odds for success, Van Dyke and the district's administrative manager, Carla Dykhuis, have done what almost every other police and fire department in the country does -- they have spent the last week putting their top candidates through a crucible to help evaluate each candidate's skills.
"It's a very involved process, which we believe gives us a 360-degree view of the applicants, from both a personal and operations perspective," Van Dyke said.
That 360-degree view includes a six-step, two-day assessment.
To test their administrative skills, they are subjected to a basket filled with various memos and requests, then asked to dispatch them to the appropriate people.
Their writing skills are then tested as they are asked to put into words their management philosophy. Their verbal skills are tested they make a presentation defending that philosophy.
A board of review then plays 20 questions, where the candidates are asked to respond to a variety of personnel and personal situations.
And finally they are placed in a role-playing situation where they are cornered by angry homeowners and a nauseatingly pushy reporter (to test people skills), before they are sent to establish command and control of the simulated eight-vehicle accident (to test tactical skills).
Dixon, who has also been on the other side of process acting as an evaluator, says he believes in the process, regardless of how he fares this time.
"It tests all your skills and abilities to do the job," he says, "And a good way to see how you match up. Even if you don't get the job, it's an opportunity to discovery what skills you need to be working on."
According to Van Dyke, he and Dykhuis will have a candidate chosen by next week.
