Chief Set to Resign from Manassas Park Fire Department

The man who has led the Manassas Park Fire Department for more than a half decade is leaving his post this month.

Fire Chief John O’Neal has been with the fire department for about six years and has decided to resign from his position, effective April 30.

 O’Neal said he is in no way dissatisfied with his current position, but that he chose to accept a great opportunity as the fire chief of Addison, TX, a city just North of Dallas with a population comparable to Manassas Park.

 “It has been truly a pleasure to have served the city. I’m grateful to the firefighters and the personnel that I’ve worked with here for supporting me and helping to achieve our vision for the department. I’m very proud of where we are today—I’m very proud of the organization. I’m very grateful to the mayor and the present and past city councils for supporting the organization,” O’Neal said.

O'Neal was recognized during Tuesday's  city council meeting with a certificate of appreciation by the Manassas Park Social Services Advisory Board.  O’Neal served on the board for more than three years and is known as an “officer and a gentleman” by the those who served alongside him.

 Advisory board members said O’Neal is dedicated, much appreciated and will be very missed.

O'Neal said the fire department has improved in the last six years; its personnel are well trained and professional and the city’s overall emergency management program has strengthen, the chief said.

 During his tenure, the fire department consolidated its dispatching with Prince William County, which helps the agency better serve Manassas Park residents, he said.

 In 2007, the fire department began charging a fee for EMS transport, building revenue for the agency.

Insurance companies and Medicare are primarily billed for the services, as almost all medical insurances pay for ambulance rides to the hospital as part of benefits offered, he said.

 “We were not taking advantage of the revenue stream in the past, it was a new idea for Manassas Park. Prince William(County) is just starting to do it now,” he said. “But for me, it was an old concept. When I first started in 1978, the system I worked for at that time was charging $30 for an ambulance ride.”

 The Manassas Park Fire Department now collects about $300,000 in  annual revenue from insurance companies—money the department hadn’t been collecting before, O’Neal said.

Those who don’t have insurance can file an hardship waiver and will not be billed if they qualify, he said.

While he is looking forward to serving the people of Addison and the lower cost of living in the area, O’Neal said it is difficult leaving the people he’s grown to love and appreciate.

“The negative side of the move is that we will be farther away from friends and family,” said O’Neal, who hails from Portsmouth,VA. “But with today’s electronic media, we can stay in touch fairly well with phone calls, emails and those types of things. And it’s only a three-hour plane ride away.”

 O’Neal began his career in Portsmouth where he worked for more than 20 years and retired as a battalion chief for the city’s fire department.

 He worked in Jacksonville, NC before he was hired by former Manassas Park City Manager Mercury Payton as the city’s fire chief.

 His wife ,Winnie O’Neal, will stay in the family’s home with their young daughter for the next year or so to finish her unexpired term as Manassas Park city treasurer, he said.

 Deputy Fire Chief Todd E. Lupton will serve as acting fire chief until a new chief is hired by the city.