AUGUSTA, GA. (WFXG) - According to City of Augusta officials, a new fire chief is expected to start next month. FOX 54 spoke to Augusta Richmond County Commissioner Brandon Garrett who said the city has high expectations for Antonio Burden.

“Some of us wanted to see the process start over, that way there could be some better accountability and transparency within the process,” Garrett said.

But Garrett said they were outnumbered. City commissioners voted 6-3 to offer Burden the position last month which he accepted.

“He had majority of the votes so we’re going to move forward and really, you know, we have a new fire chief in Augusta and hopefully he will come in and do a fantastic job,” Garrett said.

He hopes Burden will concentrate on building trust back into the force and recruiting. “The study that we had done last year on the fire department last year shows that you know, moral and recruiting were the biggest issues within that department,” he said.

It’ll be important for Burden to gain support from the firefighters, Garrett said, especially those who have invested much of their lives into the department. “Help them know that he has their back,” Garrett said.

He said he also hopes Burden will also work to maintain Augusta’s ISO rating. “Which helps give everyone in Richmond County better fire insurance rates,” Garrett said.

Burden will be faced with a few challenges starting day one, Garrett said, like pressure to get the city its own ambulances.

“I’m really hoping that he’ll concentrate more on the fireside of things rather than on the ambulance side,” he said.

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