Fire chief finalists announced for Columbia
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The City of Columbia has announced three finalists in their search for a new fire chief for the Columbia Fire Department.
The first is Brian Dunn. He has served as the fire chief in San Angelo, Texas for the past 21 years. Prior to this, he held other positions in the San Angelo Fire Department, including captain-safety officer, lieutenant, driver and firefighter, totaling more than 32 years of public fire service experience.
The next is Christopher Riley who is described by the city as having more than 40 years of experience in fire services. He served as fire chief in two Colorado municipalities - Pueblo and Colorado Springs.
The third is a local candidate and current assistant fire chief for Columbia Fire Clayton Farr Jr. He has served the Columbia Fire Department in numerous capacities since 1998, including as a firefighter, assistant fire marshal, lieutenant, battalion chief, division chief/shift commander and currently as assistant fire chief, and is the public information officer for the department.
Members of the public will be able to meet all three during a meet and greet on August 22 at Columbia City Hall.
The department has been looking for a new chief since January when former Columbia Fire Chief Andy Woody announced he was leaving the department to become the next director of the Arkansas Fire Training Academy (AFTA). Woody's last day with the fire department was Feb. 25.
Columbia hired Woody as its fire chief in December 2019. Woody served as chief of the Searcy, Arkansas Fire Department before coming to Columbia.
The school said Woody was hired to replace AFTA Director Rachel Nix. Nix plans to retire in March.
In April, City spokesperson Sydney Olsen said Strategic Government Solutions would be hired to help find the head of the fire department.
Olsen said SGR would take as long as 15 weeks to find finalists for the position. SGR would help advertise the position, interview "key stakeholders" in the process, and conduct face-to-face interviews with candidates.
SGR’s recruitment process helped the city receive 29 applications from candidates in 15 states.
Former CFD chief Randy White is currently serving as interim chief of the department. White retired from the city in 2019.
The department is in the midst of building and opening two new fire stations in southwest and east Columbia.
