Sergeants eliminated from roster at RFD
RUSSELLVILLE – Less than a month after Fire Chief Joe Mansell rescinded his request for retirement, he’s made a few changes within his department.
At one point there used to be six sergeants and three lieutenants within the department. After some retirements and some promotions, Mansell said he saw an opportunity to eliminate all sergeant positions.
“To put it into football terms, we’re going back to the basics,” Mansell said.
Auburn University came in and did a study on the fire department around 1988 and suggested there be sergeants within the department, Mansell said.
“We tried it out, but it didn’t go exactly the way we hoped for,” he said. “By eliminating that position, I feel like it streamlines the department. And it seems like my guys are on board with that decision.”
So now, there are no more sergeants within the department and there will be six lieutenants. That means there will be a lieutenant on each shift at each fire house.
Mansell explained the department has three shifts and two fire houses.
“It was coming at a prime time since some lieutenants and sergeants were retiring,” he said. “It will affect their pay, meaning there will be a little bit of a pay increase.”
Mansell said the increase in pay varies depending on the number of years each lieutenant has under his belt within the department.
“This will only make the department stronger,” he added. “This doesn’t change our normal dayto- day. Every firefighter on this roster will fight a fire.”
Mansell said the department remains fully staffed with 20 paid firefighters and 10 active volunteer firefighters on the roster.
“By making this move, it does put us back to where we were before the Auburn study, but I feel it only makes our department stronger,” he said.
The department also has been working on upgrading its apparatus. It received its 100-foot platform ladder truck in early July, which cost $2.2 million. It replaced a ladder truck purchased in 2004.
Mansell said two new engines, specifically built for Russellville, are now expected to be delivered in January 2026 after having been on order for more than two years.
The two Sutphen Heavy-Duty engines cost $786,756 each and will replace engines which were built in 1998 and 2004.
