Photo courtesy of Cobb County government

At this morning’s meeting of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners, Dr. Michael Cunningham was appointed Cobb County Fire Chief.

County Manager Dr. Jackie McMorris made the recommendation to the commissioners.

McMorris said, “I would like to recommend to you the appointment of Dr. Michael A. Cunningham as our new fire chief.”

“By way of background, Dr. Cunningham joined the Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services Department in 2005 as a Firefighter 2 before being promoted to Engineer/Driver in 2011,” she said. “He was then promoted to lieutenant in 2016 and Captain Chief of Staff in 2019.”

“Since October 2020, he has served as the division Chief of Staff to the fire chief,” McMorris said.

“Dr. Cunningham is an Air Force veteran and holds multiple degrees, including an Associate of Avionic Systems from the Community College of the Air Force, a Bachelor’s of Professional Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, a Bachelor’s of Computer Science from Troy University,” she said. “His postgraduate degrees include a Master’s of Business Administration from Kennesaw State University and a PhD of industrial and organizational Psychology from Grand Canyon University.”

Before the vote, District 3 Commissioner JoAnn Birrell said, “I would just like to say congratulations and thank you. This was a tough decision with two excellent, excellent internal candidates, and we love you both, but congratulations.”

“It is a humbling experience and an absolute honor to be standing before you,” Chief Cunningham was quoted in a county news release after the board confirmed his appointment. “To the men and women of this department, I am truly honored to stand alongside you and uphold our tradition of excellence in service to this community. I’m excited about the future.”

The news release stated that Cunningham’s appointment officially begins on February 17, but Public Safety Director Michael Register immediately appointed him interim chief so that he could assume the duties of office before then.