Despite requests by critics of the department for a female chief, there will soon be a new man heading up Tampa Fire Rescue.
Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn announced Tuesday that Assistant Chief of Operations Nick LoCicero will replace Chief Tom Forward, who is retiring after 35 years with TFR.
LoCicero is also a long-time member of the department, having served for 32 years.
The Tampa Bay Times reports LoCicero, 54, currently lives in unincorporated Hillsborough County. That's an issue because the fire chief and other department heads must live inside Tampa city limits. The new chief says he's working on remedying that problem.
The Times also reports that critics of TFR, including firefighter Tanja Vidovic, urged Buckhorn to name Division Chief Susan Tamme as Forward's replacement.
Vidovic won a federal lawsuit against the city last December and was awarded $245,000. The court decided she was discriminated against because she was pregnant and then retaliated against when she complained.
Tamme testified on Vidovic's behalf at her trial.
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