By Mark Hand
The News & Advance
LYNCHBURG, Va. — With the goal of selecting a new fire chief by June, the city of Lynchburg held community input sessions on Monday as it prepares to start receiving applications for the fire chief position and then begin interviewing candidates.
The city reached out to fire department employees, corporate and nonprofit partners, and city residents to get their feedback on the traits they would like to see in a new fire chief and the types of questions the city should ask candidates during the interview process.
| MORE: Retirement shouldn’t hurt: Healthy aging in the fire service
Along with in-person input sessions, the city is encouraging the public to complete an online survey to share their perspectives on the qualities, experience and priorities that should guide the city’s search for the next fire chief.
The new fire chief will replace former Chief Gregory Wormser, who retired from the department last fall. Deputy Chief Jonathan Wright has been serving as acting chief since Wormser’s departure.
As with the city’s recent search for a new police chief, Lynchburg has partnered with Raftelis, a recruitment and leadership consulting firm, to engage with the community and oversee the selection of candidates who will be interviewed by city staff.
Pamela Wideman, senior manager with Raftelis, visited Lynchburg on Monday to facilitate meetings where she asked attendees for examples of what the Lynchburg Fire Department does well and how the department could improve.
After meeting with LFD personnel and city partners earlier in the day, Wideman facilitated an input session at E.C. Glass High School on Monday evening, where Lynchburg residents could show up to offer their views.
Turbulent times for LFD
One attendee noted the last few years have been “turbulent” times at the LFD. When a potential candidate researches Lynchburg and the fire department, they might conclude there will be “a lot of baggage that may come with this role,” the person said.
“How do you, as a recruiter, address that?” he asked.
Wideman said, as the recruiter, “We don’t hide anything.”
Fire chief candidates will be told that Lynchburg “is looking for someone to come in and be a change agent, so to speak, and deal with the many issues,” she said.
The city has faced a long legal battle with At-large City Councilman Martin Misjuns, who filed a lawsuit against the city in 2021 for his termination from the LFD over social media posts and other conduct. On Monday, a federal judge ruled against Misjuns’ motion to have his lawsuit reopened.
Last spring, during a city council meeting, Jamie Maxwell, a captain in the LFD and then-president of the Lynchburg Firefighters Association Local 1146, approached At-large Councilwoman Stephanie Reed at the dais, without her permission or the permission of Mayor Larry Taylor, the presiding officer.
Reed pushed her chair back away from the dais to separate herself from Maxwell.
“He has threatened me tonight, and I do not feel safe,” Reed said.
After that meeting, the city put up belt stanchions to make it obvious to members of the public that they are not allowed to approach the dais without permission from the presiding officer.
During the public comment period at city council’s Feb. 24 meeting, Travis Guthrie, the new president of Local 1146, demonstrated a less confrontational approach to city staff and council. The Lynchburg Firefighters Association advocates for firefighter safety, health, compensation and other workplace matters.
Guthrie expressed gratitude to City Manager Wynter Benda and Wormser for their work on behalf of Lynchburg firefighters over the past few years, including on recruitment and implementing a step pay plan to increase pay transparency and career progression for firefighters.
Last fall, a video appearing to show one Lynchburg firefighter and an audio recording claiming to be of another city firefighter went viral on social media. In both the video and the audio recording, the firefighters were using racist language. The audio recording also included the firefighter threatening the life of a woman.
Soon after the release of the videos, Wormser was placed on administrative leave by the city manager. No reason was given for the decision to place the chief on leave. A short time later, Wormser retired from the LFD.
Last fall, the city also initiated an external and independent review of the department’s recruitment and retention practices, personnel policies and internal training protocols.
The review is part of the city’s “ongoing commitment to strengthening the department and ensuring the highest level of service to the residents of Lynchburg,” the city said in a statement at the time.
Fire department culture
As for potential candidates for the position of fire chief, an attendee at Monday’s public input session said she hopes anyone who applies for the job will want to make changes to the department’s culture.
“Because the lawsuits are public knowledge. Everything that’s been on Facebook is public knowledge,” she said. “Hopefully someone would know what they’re getting into and would want to change the culture.”
Wideman also emphasized Raftelis will be conducting a national search, not just a regional one, for a new fire chief.
Del. Wendell Walker, R- Lynchburg, who attended the public input session, suggested to Wideman that perhaps the focus should be on the Mid-Atlantic region, where the city might be able to find a chief who “understands Southerners and how we live and talk.”
The online survey is open until April 13 and can be accessed at https://survey.zohopublic.com/zs/VPBBgv.
Participants are asked to select up to three traits that they would value most in a new fire chief. Survey participants also are asked about the most critical areas of professional expertise they believe the next chief should possess and the most significant challenges the LFD will face in the next three to five years.
Mid County Fire Chief Randell Sanders says new search protocols are coming after firefighters failed to find Wayne Vann in his burned home
The San Bernardino County Fire Department looked at new technology using infrared sensors and sound waves to suppress flames
A quick knockdown of a house fire in Joplin
The funding will support the construction of a second fire station as Scion Township leaders work to expand fire service coverage
© 2026 The News & Advance, Lynchburg, Va.
Visit www.newsadvance.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Bipartisan legislation would fund National Fallen Firefighters Foundation programs supporting Fire Hero Families through proceeds from commemorative coin sales
