Looks like a soft spot was touched in a recent spout regarding the appointment of a deputy chief in the North Wildwood Fire Department. Either you missed the point, or you are the appointee. I am for a career fire department and was once a chief in a large municipal department. There is no justification for a small department to have such a command structure. If the chief is off, one may be designated to act out of rank and be compensated for the time of performance. I do believe the current chief should be replaced by a community-oriented chief, but to add a deputy would be a total waste.