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Hall fire chief relieved of command following truck accident
Jeff Hood
Jeff Hood

Hall County Fire Chief David Kimbrell has been relieved of command over fire services but will retain his post as Emergency Management Agency director following a mishap with a fire truck last month that injured three firefighters.

Jeff Hood has been named interim fire chief.

During a training exercise in July, firefighters TJ Elliott, Stephen Jackson and Will Griffin were injured when the bucket atop a fire truck ladder fell 44 feet.

"I am anxious to find the cause of the truck accident more than anyone," Kimbrell wrote in an internal email this morning obtained by The Times. "I look forward to what (the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) finds when they come in to do their investigation, and the final report of the county and their investigation. Hopefully, that will prevent this from ever happening somewhere else and will prevent this from happening here again."

The training exercise involved maneuvering the ladder truck that was acquired in April for the new Fire Station No. 16.

The fire truck was sold by the fire department that owned it previously because of mechanical problems.