Columbia fire chief finalists plan to stay on the job long-term

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Community members had their first opportunity Thursday evening to meet the four finalists for Columbia's next fire chief.

Attendance at the meeting at Columbia City Hall was low, with the majority of attendees being government officials or council members. Participants were able to go to several tables and ask questions of the finalists.

The city is looking to fill its open fire chief position after Chief Clayton Farr Jr. retires on April 1. Michael Arnhart serves as interim chief.

Over the past decade, Columbia has already welcomed four different full-time fire chiefs. When Farr announced his decision to retire, the president of the Columbia Professional Firefighters Union told ABC 17 News that the constant change of leadership had created a “chaotic atmosphere” for firefighters. This time around, the final candidates said they planned to stay. the position for a longer period.

The final four candidates are Deputy Fire Chief John Ambra, Deputy Fire Chief Jeffrey Heidenreich, MU Health Care Clinical Director Chuck Doss and Spokane, Wash., Deputy Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer.

Ambra has been with the Columbia Fire Department since 2004. He has served as a firefighter, fire engineer, fire lieutenant, fire captain, fire battalion chief and deputy fire chief. According to a May 28 news release, he previously worked at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers as a journeyman electrician from 2001 to 2004 and at South Kansas City Electric as an apprentice electrician from 1998 to 2001.

Ambra told ABC 17 News he appreciates the direction the department is taking, but would like to focus on some of the recommendations received during the accreditation process.

Heidenreich has been with the Columbia Fire Department since 2008. He has served as a firefighter, engineer, lieutenant, captain, Commission on Fire Accreditation International accreditation officer and deputy fire chief, according to a city release in a previous report. Heidenreich earned a master's degree in business administration from Columbia College. The release said Heidenreich holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration from the University of Missouri and was a graduate of Rock Bridge High School. He told ABC 17 that becoming a fire chief has been a dream of his since he was little.

Doss has served as clinical lead for prehospital services at MU Health Care since 2021, according to the release. He has been a member of Missouri Task Force 1 since 2000 and has worked with the Boone County Fire Protection District as a Battalion Chief and Assistant Fire Chief. He also worked at Boone Hospital Center as an EMT, City of Olathe Fire Department as a Firefighter and Paramedic, Boone Hospital Center as an EMT, Paramedic and Emergency Coordinator. transportation, to the Boone County Fire Protection District as a firefighter and lieutenant, and the Battlefield Fire Protection District as a volunteer firefighter.

Doss holds a master's degree in organizational leadership from Waldorf University, a bachelor's degree in fire science – fire administration from Columbia Southern University, an associate degree in fire science from Kansas City Kansas Community College, the release said. He also graduated from Kickapoo High School in Springfield.

During his press briefing, he said he didn't think there would be much of a learning curve after his three years away from the fire department, given his more than 20 years of experience.

Schaeffer has served as deputy fire chief and fire chief for the Spokane Fire Department since 2005, the release said. He previously served as deputy fire chief for the Yakima Fire Department in Yakima, Wash., and deputy fire chief for Yakima Fire District 12, according to the release.

According to last week's release, Schaeffer holds a master's degree in leadership from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, a master's degree in public administration from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a bachelor of science in fire science from Sterling College in Kansas City. , Missouri. He also graduated from Freeburg High School in Freeburg, Illinois.

Schaeffer said he would like Columbia to be at the forefront of using AI technology to help the department collect data on how to respond to scenes, something his department used when he was in Spokane.

“One of the things we did in Spokane that I'm really proud of is a collaboration with a company called Dark Horse. Dark Horse is a deployment tool that allows you to recover data from years ago,” Schaeffer said. “Much like you would with Chat GPT. Except instead of web pages or documents, it's data on response time, where they came from, how long it took them, where they responded from, where they were in their district, where they were out of their district, how long they were away. there and what interventions they made. All this information is available.

Given the recent turnover within the department, ABC 17 News asked each of the candidates how long they saw themselves serving in the position.

“I’m young and I have a lot of energy,” Ambra said. “I have a lot of ideas and I know this work takes time to see good changes for all the work we have done. I will say I have no intention of going anywhere else . Colombia is my home. I would say five years, who knows?

“I’m not going anywhere,” Doss said. “I'm not applying for other jobs. I'm not looking to go to another department. This is my home, so this is where I'll be until I retire, which is far from the case.

“There is no end date for my career. It’s open and I definitely want to serve this community as long as I’m doing a great job,” Heidenreich said.

The only out-of-state candidate, Schaeffer, said the department has a good history and wants to contribute in the future.

The last time the city hired a fire chief, it conducted a nationwide search before hiring Farr, who had been with the department for more than 20 years. The city also brought in several out-of-state candidates for the police chief search, but chose to promote Jill Schulde, given her long history with the department.

According to previous reports, the selection process became controversial, with the city's firefighters union complaining about a lack of communication with city leaders when Farr was hired.

Schaeffer said he wasn't concerned about the city's track record of promoting internal candidates.

“You have to trust the process. You need to be sure that HR and organizational leadership are recruiting and selecting the right people for the needs of the organization at that time. So it's not necessarily a question of fit, but rather what the person can bring to the table and they know that better than anyone. does,” Schaffer said. “I have no problem if they choose a better-suited candidate.”