FAIRFAX, Va. — Fairfax County’s new fire chief is officially on the job. Among the many challenges he will face: addressing complaints of sexual harassment and bullying inside the department.
John Butler officially began his job leading the county’s Fire and Rescue Department Saturday, but he had a swearing-in ceremony Tuesday morning before a crowd comprising other regional fire chiefs, county officials, members of the department and Butler’s family.
He replaces Richard Bowers, who retired in the wake of complaints about sexual harassment within the department.
Previously, Butler spent 25 years rising through the ranks of the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services in Maryland. He had served as chief of the department since 2014, and was an active-duty Marine before joining the department.
“I am an immigrant. I am a naturalized United States citizen. I am a Marine. … Most importantly, I am your new fire and rescue chief,” Butler said in a speech after he took an oath of office Tuesday.
“I joined the fire department as a high school graduate. I had two pieces of paper: a diploma and a DD 214,” Butler said, referring to active-duty discharge papers.
Butler’s family immigrated to the United States from Liberia when they fled the country following an attempted coup in his teenage years. “There was no 911 to call. It was ‘protect you and your family by all means necessary,’” Butler said.
In his speech, Butler also acknowledged the importance of continued training, recalling the tragic loss of one of their own, the death of Howard County Fire Lt. Nathan Flynn.
Butler also acknowledged that grit and leadership only go so far toward addressing some of the systemic issues facing the department, like sexual harassment and bullying.
Overall, Butler plans to focus on the agency’s culture, service delivery and members of the department.
“It’s an exciting job to have, probably one of the better ones in the country right now,” Butler said.
As part of the selection process, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova was impressed by Butler’s background and experience, saying, “This is a man who can handle himself and who can inspire and work with our already-excellent Fire and Rescue Department but be able to get to some of the problems and some of the issues that we’re not OK with.”
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a new complaint about sexual harassment earlier this year on behalf of two members of the department. It follows a separate investigation into alleged harassment of female firefighters in the department
“A healthy team is invested in the success and well-being of every member. Every member must succeed or else we haven’t succeeded. It’s not us and them, some and not some. We fail if every member doesn’t succeed,” Butler said.
County Executive Bryan Hill said he has “ultimate confidence” in Butler’s leadership to build a collaborative culture that matches the county’s “One Fairfax” policies that call for fairness and equality.
“We really want to just move forward,” Hill said.
