Selma's new fire chief adds radio system, training, air system for firefighters during interim year

Selma’s new fire chief, Walter Dailey, says he is moving the department into the “modern era of emergency response.”

Dailey was elevated to chief by the Selma City Council on March 24 after he served as interim assistant chief for just over a year following the retirement of former Interim Chief Coley Byrd. 

In a statement, Dailey said he did more than maintain the status quo during the transitional period after Byrd. He points to a series of “transformative” upgrades such as a new radio and communication system and new Cascade breathing air system for firefighters. Dailey also says he expanded training programs.

“It is not enough to merely meet the basic safety standards expected by the citizens of Selma, those standards must be consistently exceeded,” Dailey said in the statement.

The department’s new radio and communications systems will allow the department to have seamless and reliable contact during emergencies, he said. The advanced training will give first responders “cutting-edge skills required to handle any crisis.” In March, the department is unveiling an upgraded Cascade breathing air system that surpasses the rigorous standards set by the National Fire Protection Association. 

Dailey says as he drops the "interim" title, “the city of Selma is definitively safer under his watch.”