Tyler Morning Telegraph

By Sarah Forsythe sarah@brenhambanner.com

September 23, 2024

The city of Brenham has “all of its leadership positions in place now,” City Manager Carolyn Miller said during last week’s city council meeting following the announcement of hiring of David Cella to fill the assistant fire chief position for the Brenham Fire Department.

Cella started in his new role last Monday, and was quite literally “thrown into the fires,” BFD Chief Mark Donovan said, with the structure fire off Gibbs Road on Monday and the large blaze at the All Sorts Storage facility Wednesday evening.

Despite having to jump straight in on his first day and throughout the first week, Cella was ready for the challenges ahead, Donovan said.

“He comes to us from Williamson County, where he was their deputy chief of Hazmat Operations,” Donovan said. “He’s also very involved in fire investigation, which proved very valuable [Wednesday] night.”

Information from his Williamson County profile states Cella earned an associate degree in fire science technology and currently holds hazardous materials technician and hazardous materials incident commander certification from the Texas Commission on Fire Protection; tank car, cargo tank and intermodal tank specialty certifications through Pro Board and is certified as an emergency medical technician from the Texas Department of Health Services.

In Williamson County, Cella oversaw the countywide operations of the HAZMAT teams, along with performing day-to-day inspections. Prior to his role in Williamson County, Cella worked for the Texas Department of Emergency Management as a supervisor of the Technological Hazards Unit where he oversaw several federal grants that funded planning and training efforts related to hazardous materials and radiological emergencies, information from his profile states.

Cella’s career began in Southern New Jersey in 2000, Donovan said, where Cella had an 18-year career in fire services at varying ranks and responsibilities.

In 2007, he was hired by the county of Gloucester’s Department of Emergency Response, information from the profile states.

Cella worked in the EMS Division as well as for the county’s hazardous materials Emergency Response Team. During his tenure, he served in the capacities of emergency medical technician, HAZMAT training officer and deputy chief of Hazmat. In 2017, Cella was hired by the County of Salem as a Fire Instructor for the county’s fire academy, where he served as a lead instructor for the hazardous materials technician course.

In 2018, Cella and his wife, Chrissy, relocated to Texas, where he continued his career with the Texas Division of Emergency Management. The Cellas are currently residing in Paige, just west of Giddings.