DATE: Thursday, October 9, 1997             TAG: 9710070152

SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS         PAGE: 13   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  129 lines

SAVING LIVES FOREMOST ON FIRE CHIEF'S AGENDA HAUPT IS BENT ON MAKING HIS MERGED PARAMEDIC/FIRE DEPARTMENT THE BEST.

Donald A. Haupt Jr. did not set out to be a firefighter. And being fire chief was far from his wildest dream.

Haupt, who started his career as a paramedic 25 years ago, was officially appointed fire chief earlier this year. He leads a 500-person department with a budget of nearly $23 million.

Haupt, 48, relishes the task of saving lives.

``The citizens of Norfolk need to know we have an excellent fire and paramedical service department, that they're well protected,'' he said recently.

His job sometimes calls for juggling budgets, holding meetings and writing mission statements, but Haupt also dashes out to emergencies. He was trained to fight fires during his stint at the fire academy a few years ago.

His blond hair, sly grin and boyish looks belie his age. His drive, he said, flows from his desire to help others and to be the best.

Haupt was raised in New Jersey and moved to Norfolk in 1969 when he was in the Navy. In Vietnam, he worked on Medevac helicopters.

His Navy medical training led him to a job working in respiratory therapy at Norfolk General Hospital and Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters. In 1971, the city obtained a grant for an ambulance service.

The next year, Haupt left the hospital to work as a paramedic with the city, prompted in part by some of the medical work he performed in Vietnam, he said.

He moved up through the department as a supervisor, then chief of paramedical training and superintendent.

In 1991, Haupt helped orchestrate a fairly unusual venture. The city's roughly 75 paramedics and 400 firefighters merged to form a combined service with one director. Few cities nationwide at that time had a fully merged fire and paramedic department. Norfolk staff have been cross-trained so that most now are trained to fight fires and perform emergency medical care.

Haupt helped develop the department's neo-natal transport service and the Nightingale air ambulance.

The previous fire chief, Carl Welch, retired in January. At that time, Haupt was the paramedical chief while also serving as acting director of fire and paramedical services. He was named permanent chief in late February.

Since then, he has stressed training and fire prevention and made moves to decrease the response time during emergencies. Response time is the time it takes for fire or emergency crews to reach the scene.

Between 1991 and 1996, response times have gone down, from 4.3 minutes to 3.8 minutes for fire and 13.2 minutes to 5.7 minutes for EMS.

The department cited better dispatching equipment, improved training and a reorganization as some of the factors contributing to the drop in response times.

In a report about fire department's practices that have contributed to high performance levels, the International City Managers Association, based in Washington, D.C., this year cited several of Norfolk fire department's practices.

It said that Norfolk's high performance in fire call responses was due to the city's compact size and the strategic locations of fire stations. The report also singled out Norfolk's Emergency Medical Service response times.

In addition, ICMA applauded:

Percent of Arsons Cleared: Norfolk has increased arson case clearances due to a five-man staff strictly dedicated to fire investigations.

Number of Civilian Fire-Related Injuries and Deaths: Norfolk attributed its low civilian injury and death rates to continuing education and prevention efforts.

Haupt said the accolades help put Norfolk's department on the map.

``We've been setting the pace for the rest of the country,'' he said.

The department has undergone more change under Haupt than in the past five years, said assistant fire chief Emory McCoy.

``Watching the job Don's done . . . it's won my respect,'' McCoy said.

Haupt also won the respect of other senior officials, he said.

``Don is a very energetic person,'' McCoy said. ``He's driven, but more into his job. He loves his job.''

McCoy, who's been with the department since 1964, met the future chief in 1972, back when Haupt taught CPR at the station houses.

``Don is the same person he's always been, the same drive and energy level. He seems to never tire,'' McCoy said. ``I get tired sometimes just trying to stay with him.''

Haupt's wife, Beverly Kidd, said his energy doesn't flag at home. He's renovated large portions of their home himself and likes to do woodworking to relax, she said.

``It definitely carries over into his home life,'' said Kidd, a morning co-anchor and reporter for WTKR-NewsChannel 3.

They met in 1992 when she was a public information officer for the fire department. Haupt, she said, encouraged her to go after a position with a TV station.

Kidd recalled a time recently when her husband realized - at the end of the work day - that several employees would lose money because of a change in the city payroll system. He was told by human resources to handle it the next day, but Haupt wouldn't back down. He tracked the city treasurer at home, corrected the paychecks and returned home late that night, she said.

``He's not going to let his people go without if he could help it,'' she said.

When talk turns to the high-tech side of firefighting, Haupt grins and his eyes shimmer. He's excited about using computers and other gadgets to help fight fires more quickly and safely.

``The fire service has changed immensely,'' he said. ``It's becoming more of a high-tech business.''

The department also has several state-of-the-art engines and ladders, he said.

``Other areas are copying our designs,'' he said.

If Haupt gets excited discussing such new-fangled items it's because he wants the Norfolk department to be the best in the country. He also credits the work of his personnel.

``There's not a lot of people here that don't love their job,'' he said. ``The cooperation is great. . . . It's a nice feeling.''

But not everything has been easy since he was tapped as acting director last year. He has faced two major challenges in the past year: the exodus of 63 senior staffers who took early retirement and the construction of a new fire station.

To fill the void left by the retirees, many employees were promoted. Haupt instituted a mentor program and has pushed further training throughout the department.

With the construction of the MacArthur Center, they had to vacate the former fire headquarters on City Hall Avenue. Haupt said he then helped design the new $3.8 million Fire Station One on St. Paul's Boulevard, which is scheduled to begin operating this month.

Haupt said he now plans to pull firefighters closer to the community and focus on fire, hazardous material and medical prevention. But, he said, he never wants to stray from the department's mission to save property and lives.

``I want to see it growing and being the best in the country,'' he said. ``and until we get there, I won't be satisfied.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

``The fire service has changed immensely,'' Haupt said. ``It's

becoming more of a high-tech business.''

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