SAVANNAH – Savannah Fire Chief Elzie Kitchen resigned his post on Friday, Sept. 19, effective immediately. Deputy Fire Chief William Handy has been named the Interim Savannah Fire Chief.
“On Friday, I accepted Chief Kitchen’s resignation due to personal matters and thanked him for his many years of dutiful service to the City of Savannah,” City Manager Jay Melder said. “Deputy Chief Handy has my full trust to lead the Savannah Fire Department in this interim period.”
Chief Handy has served Savannah Fire for 29 years in multiple disciplines within the department. For seven years, he served as assistant fire chief before being promoted to deputy fire chief in 2024.
The City will begin a national search for a new fire chief immediately. All fire operations will continue as normal. Kitchen was hired in July of 2022 as the Department’s 36th fire chief. He served with Savannah Fire since 1998.
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About Savannah Fire
The Savannah Fire Department’s history dates back to the City’s first organized fire company in 1759. It was the first fully mechanized fire department in the United States. Savannah Fire is an ISO Class I fire department of more than 300 full-time, professional firefighters.