SWEETWATER, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – After eight months without a fire chief, the City of Sweetwater has welcomed Chief Dewey Coy. He was selected from a group of just four, by an outside consultant group hired by the City.

Chief Coy replaces Chief Grant Madden, who retired in January.

“I grew up in Snyder until I was 13, and then moved to Zephyr which is where I graduated high school from,” Chief Coy said. “So this is somewhat of a coming home for me.”

This is Chief Coy’s first time as a fire chief, but his firefighting career began at 18. He volunteered in Zephyr and Crane, Texas before moving to Arkansas. Chief Coy joined the Cabot Arkansas department and ultimately landed in Jacksonville, Arkansas where he retired as their Battalion Chief.

“About 6 months, I realized I wasn’t ready for retirement,” explained Chief Coy.

Sweetwater City Manager David A. Vela said any of the four candidates would have made for a good Chief, but it was Chief Coy’s attitude and leadership skills that put him over the top.

“It was very rigorous. I would hate to have been one of – one of the candidates – because we ran them through the wringer honestly,” Vela said.