Nolensville Fire Chief David Windrow Prepared for Next Career

Having been a firefighter for more than four decades and chief of Nolensville’s first paid fire department since 2020, David Windrow is ready to retire from the profession. 

“It’s time for some fresh blood,” said the 60-year-old Nolensville resident who was selected as 2023 Fire Chief of the Year by the Tennessee Fire Chiefs Association. “I honestly didn’t think I’d be here this long. The workload for everyone involved is incredible for a new department.”

“While there were many reasons I felt this was the time for me to make a career change, the main reason is to focus on maintaining my health and reduce stress. I have multiple myeloma, a blood cancer. I had stem cells transplanted in 2013. They said back then it could be back in 2-10years, and I’m in year 11.”

 “I’m very lucky to have beat the odds but recognize that the stress of running this small staffed department requires me to manage as well as be ready to run calls on the trucks when needed.”

Windrow will continue as a volunteer firefighter after    his final paid day on Jan. 31. He also will remain as chair of the Tennessee Fire Chiefs Legislative Committee and the state fire commission after originally being appointed to the latter in 2016 by then Governor Bill Haslam. He also will remain a member of the American Red Cross biomedical committee.

As someone who has worked since he was 12 years old, Windrow admits he wouldn’t know what to do if he didn’t do some type of work. So that’s one reason in February he will begin a new position as business development officer for Nabholz Construction Corporation.

“In my new position, I will work with a great group of colleagues with no management required and a more flexible schedule.  I’ll have a quality product to share and much less stress all around.”

His new employer is based in Cool Springs, from where he’ll be working when not on the road somewhere. That’s another reason he took the new job with the construction company, which among other things builds fire stations, police stations, and hospitals.

Besides those posts and his new job, Windrow and wife Tracey will have more time to regularly visit three of their four children and all seven grandchildren who reside in the area. 

“The decision to leave has been a difficult one for sure as I love my current job.  I will miss the camaraderie and brotherhood of my employees and the town leaders.”

Windrow came to Nolensville after 24 years in nearby Brentwood, first as a training officer and last as a deputy chief. Prior to that he worked full-time for nine years as a firefighter at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. He utilized his time in Texas to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Emergency Administration and a Master of Science in Public Administration at the University of North Texas. This all came after serving as an active member of the U.S. Air Force in Florida before joining the reserves. 

He is most proud of transitioning the department from all-volunteer to a mix of paid and volunteer personnel. 

He oversees 15 full-time and 17 part-time staff plus 19 volunteers. Six of the paid personnel were hired courtesy of a $1.1 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Administration. 

“I was hoping to build a firm foundation,” he said. “I’ve got great employees and an amazing new facility (that opened in June).”

The Town’s first ladder truck will be coming early this year and will bring the department’s total fleet of fire trucks to six. Plus, land has been purchased for a second fire station, which will help a department that answered more than 1,200 calls in 2024, an average of nearly 25 each week.

“I’ve got some of the best firefighters in the world,” he said. “It’s not that I don’t like a shiny $12 million building or $2 million ladder trucks, but the greatest accomplishment are the people who have come to work here.

“I’ve had a blessed career, but the timing was right. We still have work to do here, but it is time to step aside and let others pick up the torch and move the organization into the future.”