The Suffolk Department of Fire and Rescue’s 10th chief made history when he was sworn into office on Tuesday. Cedric Scott is the first African-American to take the helm of the department or any of its predecessor organizations.

Suffolk is blessed to have benefited from the hard work and dedication of many fine men and women serving in its paid and volunteer emergency services agencies through the years. And the city has been especially fortunate that those who’ve led the fire department in the past were hometown products.

If it was necessary to look outside of Suffolk to fill the position left vacant by the retirement last year of Mark Outlaw, it would appear that the folks in charge of finding Outlaw’s replacement did a fine job of filling the vacancy.

Scott described himself on Tuesday as a “servant leader” and pledged to get together with the existing fire department leaders before instituting major changes. He also suggested that he has a high regard for the people who will be manning the fire trucks that will be under his ultimate command, and that’s one of the most important marks distinguishing a good leader from a poor one.

Having come to Suffolk from a career built in various Georgia fire departments, Scott will be adjusting to a new part of the country as he also gets used to the political and social climate of a new department. We welcome him to Suffolk and wish him the best.