Corey A. Smedley Named City of Alexandria’s Fire Chief

ALEXANDRIA, VA – After a nationally competitive recruitment effort, City Manager Mark B. Jinks has appointed Corey A. Smedley as fire chief for the City of Alexandria, effective immediately. Chief Smedley, who has served as acting fire chief since the retirement of Robert C. Dubé in June, will be the first African American to serve as permanent fire chief in Alexandria’s history.

“Throughout his 25-year career, Chief Smedley has been involved in nearly every aspect of fire and emergency medical service,” said Jinks. “His leadership both within the Fire Department and with our community and regional partners shows he has the necessary qualities and experience to lead our Fire Department into the next decade.”

As acting fire chief, Smedley worked with City and regional agencies to develop a joint recruit training program with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority; enhance analytics and performance indicators; establish better fiscal control measures; centralize the Fire Marshal’s Office; and implement increased minimum staffing on fire engines and trucks. Previously, he served as Assistant Fire Chief of Administration, responsible for support services, human resources, and information technology.

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Smedley joined the City in 2015 as Deputy Fire Chief of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, responsible for improving community preparedness for major emergencies. In this position, he worked with local and regional partners to update the Emergency Operations Plan and the Threats and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment Plan for the City. He led the launch of the City’s new Emergency Operations Center, which was activated in May 2019. Chief Smedley has also worked with various state, regional and local agencies to provide training for the City’s public safety personnel and staff in other departments. He was the inaugural chair of the advisory committee to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Homeland Security Executive Committee, which recommends regional preparedness priorities and the allocation of federal homeland security funding to area localities.

Before joining the City, Smedley served as the Deputy Chief of the Prince George’s County (Maryland) Fire/EMS Department. During his 20-year tenure with the County, he served in roles as varied as firefighter, Operations Duty Chief, Fire Marshal, Special Events Coordinating Chair, FedExField Stadium Commander, and Chief of Staff to the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Public Safety.

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Smedley is a Nationally Registered Paramedic and a certified fire inspector, instructor and investigator, and earned the Certified Public Manager credential from The George Washington University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mass media from the University of the District of Columbia and a master’s degree in organizational management from Johns Hopkins University.