East Manatee Board of Fire Commissioners approves new chief

Constant. Stable. Direction.

Those three words were all emphasized by East Manatee Fire Rescue Chief Lee Whitehurst as he talked about the evolution of his district.

Whitehurst made it clear that constant, stable leadership helped the district grow in a positive direction to serve an east Manatee County area undergoing a boom in population.

Since East Manatee Fire Rescue made its chief a paid position in 1983, there have been only four men who have filled the role. On Feb. 17, Whitehurst announced that the East Manatee Fire Rescue District Board of Fire Commissioners unanimously selected Deputy Chief Paul Wren to succeed him as the fifth.

Wren doesn't replace Whitehurst, who is retiring, until Jan. 7, 2027, but until then he will handle his normal responsibilities along with shadowing Whitehurst to learn more about his new position.

Both Whitehurst and Wren are history buffs, which means they understand every detail of their district's past, and the firefighters who built it. It also means they have a personal stake in its future.

"It's something I can be really proud of," Whitehurst said about the constant, stable direction of his department. "We have done a good job of training our leaders. And the board made that clear, that there was no need to go outside (to find a new chief). We have a lot of talent here."

Wren was at the top of the list.

Photo by Liz Ramos

"I would describe myself as a true believer of what the fire service is about ... putting your neck on the line for people you've never met," Wren said.

Wren has family history with East Manatee Fire Rescue. His father, Rick Wren, worked for the district for 10 years before retiring in 2011.

Whitehurst remembered working a fire in the 1990s at Christian Retreat in Bradenton when he was a paid firefighter and Rick Wren was a volunteer. 

"At that time, everyone fought to be on the nozzle (at a fire)," Whitehurst said. "I had the nozzle, and I gave it to him. It gave him so much confidence."

Rick Wren became a full-time firefighter with Manatee at age 45. His son followed in his footsteps as the last volunteer firefighter to work with East Manatee before becoming full-time.

He also followed in his father's footsteps when it came to helping his fellow firefighters. Rick Wren led a nonprofit that helped firefighters in need. The nonprofit eventually went dormant, but Paul Wren brought it back to life as the East Manatee Firefighters' Benevolent Association.

"I had seen the tremendous success of the (Sarasota County Fire Department's) Benevolent Association," Paul Wren said. "It took me three years to get ours up and running as a 501(c)(3). But I had the bones."

Paul Wren, now 42, went on to be the president of the firefighters local union from 2017-2021.

Whitehurst said Wren proved his leadership both on the job and by taking the roles of leading the Benevolent Association and the local union. His union role was important in helping him to learn about all the district's financial constraints from both sides of the table.

The current chief said Wren always has shown the initiative since joining the department. 

"Those who have the initiative are the ones who get promoted the fastest," Whitehurst said.

The pair see similarities and differences in their leadership style.

"I am a boomer," said Whitehurst, who is 63. "Paul has that youth and energy. I understand the distance I have from the folks coming into the service."

Photo by Dex Honea

While both are tech savvy, Whitehurst admits that he remains old school in some ways, such as the small notebook he keeps tucked in his pocket — he calls it his PalmPilot — with essential information. Both Whitehurst and Wren said he can find information in that notebook faster than Wren can find it on a computer.

Away from the job, both Whitehurst and Wren are movie lovers, although Whitehurst said Wren is better at movie trivia. 

In terms of temperament, Whitehurst said "my fuse will go off sooner than Paul's."

They told a story of the time when East Manatee Fire Rescue and the Myakka City Fire Control District began discussions about merging, ahead of the actual merger in 2021. Being the president of the union, Wren began speaking with various Myakka City firefighters.

"It was very political and extremely premature," Whitehurst said. "He was trying ot get these guys to sign union cards."

Whitehurst told Wren he was out-of-line in very direct terms. 

"I was a little overzealous in the talks," Wren admitted.

It was obvious that sometimes a chief has to be tough, even with coworkers he respects.

Can Wren handle that part of the chief's job?

"I have seen Paul be tough," Whitehurst said. "I have seen Paul be annoyed. He is like Hawkeye Pierce (of MASH). He never has to pull rank, unless he absolutely has to do it, and then he can. Paul has the charisma. But he can put a lot of flowers around what he is trying to say."

Putting flowers around his comments could help Wren in the political arena, and both Whitehurst and Wren said the chief's job does involve politics.

"It was the one thing that kept me from wanting to be chief," Whitehurst said. "It was something I didn't think I was built for, and something I never was interested in. It turns out, I am not too bad at it. For the sake of the fire district, we need to have those relationships. And Paul could be a politician."

Wren said he just has to continue to learn from Whitehurst.

"Being chief is a highly political position, because you are stuck in the middle of all of these entities. I have sat and watched (Whitehurst) on some sort of hot topic, and intelligently speak, both cohesive and intelligent."

It is almost Wren's turn.

"Lee had a vision for everything," Wren said. "We saw some tremendous gains in growth during his time. His biggest message was that it is all of us together ... we. I learned that from Lee. I am not here for me, I am here for we, and we are here for them (the public)."

Whitehurst is just pleased that the district will continue on its way, constant, stable, in a good direction.

"I started here when I was 18," Whitehurst said. "I grew up in this place. It is so special that I want to leave it in good hands. I know (Wren) will be the protector of this institution. It gives me a feeling of peace."