Conway is ready to welcome a new fire chief

As one man ends his era in the fire service, another one begins the chapter of his dream job and continues a family tradition of public service to the Conway community.

At 12:01 a.m. Saturday, Battalion Chief Phillip “Le” Hendrick will take over the reins from the retiring Rick Baker to lead the city as its newest fire chief and continue a family legacy that began with his father, who retired as an assistant fire chief in 2001 after 25 years of service.

Members of Hendrick’s extended family also have served as Conway’s police chief, municipal judge and twice as previous fire chiefs through the city’s history.

Both men said residents won’t notice a difference in the shift from one chief to the other because they both have similar beliefs. The change is occurring at the end of the city’s pay period.

“It’s the right time and I wish him the best of luck. We’ve got the goal and vision and we can take it and run with it,” Hendrick said. “The city is growing and we’ll continue to grow and continue our pattern of growth within the department.”

Baker served as Conway’s fire chief for six years and is completing his 40th year of fire service, including 39 years as a paid firefighter. He served 22 of those years in administrative positions. He’s leaving the career behind to devote more time to his family, including his recently widowed mother and mother-in-law.

“There comes a time when you look at it and say I’ve spent my time. I was committed to the job and now I’m committed to my family,” Baker said. He noted he will also work on his golf game.

When he took the job, Baker said he was planning for his departure by training and preparing his crews to be promoted and take over other positions.

“A fire chief coming in [to the department] from the outside across the nation is a small percentage, probably 10 percent or less,” Baker said. “The fire chief position is very vital to the community. It carries a lot of legal responsibility.”

Conway City Administrator Bill Graham said he expects the transition between the two men to be seamless.

“We’re certainly pleased that we were able to promote our new chief from within the department. Le Hendrick is certainly well qualified and he has prepared himself very well to serve as our fire chief,” Graham said. “[Hendrick] has worked hard to prepare himself and he’s done everything necessary to move up and we’re pleased for him and for the city.”

“Chief Baker has done an excellent job for the city as our fire chief for the last six years,” Graham said. “During his time as chief, he has always promoted to all our fire personnel that they have opportunities for career growth if they improve their education and knowledge in fire service.”

Baker said a good manager surrounds himself with good people and that’s what he’s done with Hendrick, the other battalion chiefs and other leaders in the fire department.

“The people promoted over the last six years – they’ve earned their positions. They’ve earned their recognition and they’ve worked to get to that level. You work hard for the things you want in life and the goals you set and soon or later that opportunity will become available,” Baker said. “In helping with [planning and design of] the public safety building it gave other chiefs more opportunity to get involved in department administration. I think [Hendrick] is ready for the position. He will continue to learn.”

“I’m leaving the department in better organizational strength than when I came,” Baker said.

Hendrick agreed, but said he will have to relinquish his “worker bee” mentality.

“It’s an adjustment but we will be fine. We’ve got a good group of guys. They’re excited to take the next step and that excites me,” Hendrick said.

As the son of Phillip Hendrick, who retired as Conway’s assistant fire chief, Le Hendrick always wanted to be a firefighter.

As a baby, Le Hendrick’s first stop after leaving the hospital where he was born, which is where the new public safety facility and fire station No. 1 now sits, was to Conway’s old fire station located downtown.

“I have a life history here because of him,” Le Hendrick said of his father.

Becoming the fire chief in Conway has been Le Hendrick’s “dream job,” he said, reminiscing about chasing fire trucks on his bicycle as a young boy and listening to the scanner calls for help. He became a fire cadet as soon as he was eligible.

“It was a long time until I turned 15,” Le Hendrick said in an exhaustive breath about the requirement to be a fire cadet. “Then I had to wait six months before I became a cadet because they wanted to double check the nepotism rules. That was a long six months.”

“My goal was to always be the fire chief. I never thought that I would get that opportunity, but here I am,” Le Hendrick said and noted his 12-year-old son has recently taken an interest in fire service.

Le Hendrick previously worked at Conway National Bank, as a Conway police dispatcher and as a firefighter at Horry County before his dad retired and he was hired in Conway.

“I’ve worked hard to get where I am at and I’ve worked hard to get the fire department where it’s at. We’re one of the better departments in the area,” Le Hendrick said. “I hope they [residents, officials] have faith in me to get the job done.”

This story was originally published December 26, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Conway is ready to welcome a new fire chief."