By Reed Williams
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. — Rockdale County’s fire chief has announced her resignation, four months after a fire at a BioLab facility sent up a chemical cloud and led to the evacuation of 17,000 people.
Marian McDaniel announced her intent to resign as chief of Rockdale County Fire Rescue on Thursday, according to JaNice VanNess , chair of the county’s Board of Commissioners.
The county faced criticism the day after the fire, when authorities lifted a shelter-in-place order that evening only to restore it at 4 a.m. the next morning with a vague directive to stay indoors “if the cloud moves over your vicinity.”
Van Ness said she immediately appointed Deputy Chief of Operations James Robinson as interim fire chief while a search for a new leader is being conducted. A posting for the job lists an annual salary range of $122,625 to $136,502.
Van Ness said in a brief interview Monday that McDaniel’s departure has nothing to do with the Sept. 29 fire at BioLab, a company that manufactures chlorinating agents used in pools and hot tubs.
“Our priority remains focused on ensuring that we offer an effective fire department that offers the very best in service levels,” Van Ness said in an emailed statement. “Our Commissioners remain focused on delivering quality services, and we are confident that this transition will help us move forward in the best interest of our community.”
Efforts to reach McDaniel for comment were unsuccessful.
In the days after the BioLab fire, the federal Environmental Protection Agency monitored the air quality for chlorine gas and hydrochloric acid and found unsafe levels of both for about 20 days near the site, until the chemical reaction was stopped with water and a buffering compound, according to Kevin Eichinger, an on-scene coordinator for the EPA.
According to Rockdale County’s website, McDaniel had been appointed Rockdale’s fire chief in December 2020.
McDaniel, a native of Atlanta, had a career with the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department starting in 1998, serving in several roles including as a firefighter/paramedic, fire lieutenant, captain and assistant chief, according to Rockdale County’s website.
After retiring from the Atlanta Fire Department in September 2017, she joined Rockdale County Fire Rescue as deputy fire chief of administration the following month, the website says.
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