Columbia names fire chief finalists as public meeting nears

Lina PortmanJune 2, 2024

0 2 minutes read

The City of Columbia Fire Department is ready for the public to meet its finalist fire chiefs.

Clayton Farr Jr. retired in April after serving as chief for 18 months. Unlike previous searches, most candidates are local to Colombia and half are internal candidates.

A public meeting is scheduled for June 6 at 5 p.m. in the Columbia City Hall conference room, adjacent to the main entrance.

The candidates are John Ambra, Columbia deputy fire chief; Columbia Deputy Fire Chief Jeffrey Heidenreich; Chuck Doss, clinical lead for prehospital services at the University of Missouri; and Brian Schaeffer, Spokane, Wash., deputy fire chief.

Ambra, a Hickman High School graduate, has been with CFD since 2004. Before that, he was an apprentice electrician with South Kansas City Electric and then a journeyman electrician with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Other professional training comes from the Missouri Division of Fire Safety, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, and the IBEW/NECA Joint National Apprenticeship and Training Committee.

Heidenreich, a graduate of Rock Bridge High School, the University of Missouri and Columbia College, has worked for the department since 2008. In addition to his business administration degrees, Heidenreich has also pursued professional development through the designation of Commission on Professional Credentialing Fire Officer, Peer Evaluator for Commission on Fire Accreditation International, Commission on Professional Credentialing/Center for Public Safety Excellence, Boone County Fire Protection District, University of Missouri Fire Rescue Training Institute , Missouri Task Force One, Missouri State Emergency Management Agency and National Fire Academy.

Doss, a graduate of Kickapoo High School in Springfield, Kansas City Kansas Community College, Columbia Southern University in Alabama and Waldorf University in Iowa, has worked for MU Health Care since 2001 and is part of the Missouri Task Force One since 2000. In addition to his degrees in fire science, fire administration and organizational leadership, Doss has other professional developments through the designation of Chief of Emergency Medical Services from the Commission on Professional Credentialing, National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians, Missouri Bureau of EMS, American Red Cross, Federal Aviation Administration, Missouri Division of Fire. Safety, University of Missouri Fire Rescue Training Institute, FEMA, National Fire Academy, Missouri State Emergency Management Agency, International Association of Fire Chiefs, SEMA, Missouri Department of Public Safety, and Texas A&M Engineering Extension Services.

Schaeffer attended Freeburg High School in Illinois, Sterling College in Kansas City, the University of Missouri at Kansas City and Creighton University in Nebraska and worked in the Yakima and from Spokane to Washington. He served Spokane from 2005 to 2024. In addition to his degrees in fire science, public administration and leadership training, his professional development comes from his Washington State paramedic license, Fire Service Executive Development Institute , the fire chief and the head of emergency medical services.

Lina Portman

Related Articles

Arturo Ulloa gets 50 years in prison for stabbing his girlfriend 20 times in Escondido

CBI takes over investigation; arrests in Bihar reach 18, 5 others detained for alleged paper leak

Sheriff's Office Reports NBland Days Citations and Charges

Concern grows for British doctor and TV presenter missing in Greece