Chief Tim White has made great strides in moving the Mehlville Fire Protection District Forward since he was tapped to succeed Jim Silvernail, who was named chief in April 2005.

White was named administrative chief officer in April 2009 and assigned to work alongside Silvernail, who retired earlier this year.

White envisioned Mehlville as a “premier” fire district when he was selected to be Silvernail’s successor, and last May he presented to the board a list of more than 100 accomplishments he has achieved to move the district forward.

The chief’s accomplishments focus on health and safety and run the gamut from initiating the design of the district’s first comprehensive fire and rescue training program to developing and implementing new testing procedures for district leadership positions. Among his other achievements are conducting personal interviews with each district employee and developing and implementing new testing procedures for district leadership positions.

While the district’s Board of Directors established a mandatory fit-for-duty policy in August 2006, White proposed revamping that policy in September 2009 to better reflect the conditions in which district employees work. In November 2009, a revised fit-for-duty policy and new wellness program policy were adopted by the board. For the first time, firefighters and fire-medics were required to pass a fit-for-duty evaluation that included a variety of drills and a time component.

In response to union concerns about the validity of the fit-for-duty evaluation, the Board of Directors voted in June to pay Fire and Police Selection Inc. $10,000 to implement a nationally validated physical ability test for the district’s firefighters and fire-medics.

Such a proficiency test has never been administered in the district, according to White.

“Prior to me making chief, since 1954 this has never been done. There has never been a proficiency of any kind to make sure you can do the job in any way, shape or form. This has only happened now …,” he said. “I’ve lived here all my life and I think that my neighbors are counting on the firefighters and the paramedics to be able to do their jobs.”

With the fit-for-duty evaluation and other changes he has implemented, we believe White is well on his way to making Mehlville the premier fire district that he envisions.