Veteran Battalion Chief to Lead OH Department
By Allison Dunn
Source The Blade, Toledo, Ohio
July 24 -- After a brief and informal search, Toledo Fire and Rescue Department Battalion Chief Brian Byrd was named the department’s next chief, Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz announced Tuesday.
Chief Byrd was appointed Tuesday as the next fire chief. He will take over for retiring Chief Luis Santiago, who announced his retirement last month. Chief Santiago will retire after next week.
Mayor Kapszukiewicz publicly identified three candidates last week as Assistant Chief Karen Marquardt, Battalion Chief David Hitt, and Chief Byrd.
At the time, the mayor said his decision will largely come down to the question of whether to keep someone from the current administration team or to bring in a “fresh voice that may take the department in a new direction.”
Additionally, the mayor previously said he wanted a fire chief he could get along with, someone who could positively lead the department, and a leader who could increase the number of minority recruits.
“I believe that the best leaders are those who inspire their employees to work hard, not because they fear them, but because they respect them and like them so much that it would break their hearts to disappoint their boss,” the mayor previously said.
The mayor said any of the three candidates were quality choices, having the “talent and the know-how.”
The three candidates reported having varying interviews with the mayor. Chief Hitt said he spoke with the mayor prior to Chief Santiago’s retirement announcement and was not asked direct questions about the position. Assistant Chief Marquardt did not discuss the fire chief job during a recent meeting she had with the mayor, she said. Chief Byrd said he and Mayor Kapszukiewicz discussed leadership styles, increasing diversity in the department, department finances, the administration’s relationship with the union, increasing EMS responses, contract negotiations, and general responsibilities of the chief.
Mayor Kapszukiewicz said he consulted with various members of the community, but he said the Firefighter’s Union Local 92 had a “limited or non-existent role in this process.”
Chief Byrd has been with the Toledo Fire and Rescue Department for 30 years. He wanted to be a firefighter since age 5 and he said he absolutely made the right career choice.
“It’s been rewarding to me because you can actually do something for people. You never know what you’re going to do because it can change by the second,” he said. “It’s not a routine job.”
Chief Byrd was appointed to the Toledo Fire Department in 1988, and he was promoted to a lieutenant in 1992. As a lieutenant, he was certified as a nationally registered EMT-paramedic from the Northwest Ohio Paramedic Training Program at the Medical College of Ohio, where he received both academic and clinical excellence awards.
He served as captain from 1997 to 2000, receiving the heroism award from the Northwest Ohio Safety Council.
From 2000 to 2008, he worked as a battalion chief, working in both line operations and the emergency medical services bureau.
Chief Byrd was promoted to deputy chief in 2008, where he served for eight years. He was responsible for administrative duties, development of policies, protocols, and procedures related to fire and medical emergency operations.
In 2016, Chief Byrd took a self-demotion from deputy chief.
“There were some differences in leadership style and some things I wanted to do differently that I thought I could do differently in a different position, which I was fine with that,” Chief Byrd said. “I went back to the street as a battalion chief, which gave me the opportunity to do some of those things.”
As a senior battalion chief, he is responsible for administrative and emergency operations of personnel and resources in his fire district, which is comprised of six fire stations. He is also in charge of daily staffing, training, and logistical needs for 19 fire stations and more than 100 firefighters/paramedics.
Being fire chief was something he never thought of until recently, he said. When Chief Santiago announced his retirement, he said he was approached by members of the department about the idea.
Chief Byrd will also be able to select his administrative staff.
“We all have the same mission and the support I got from the people saying they thought I’d be good at it was jaw dropping,” he said. “It was something I never really thought about, even as a deputy chief.”
The mayor previously complimented Chief Byrd’s involvement in the community. He serves as a member of the advisory board for the Salvation Army and the Board of Directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Ohio. He is also involved in numerous health and local initiatives.
“He’s well respected beyond his 28, 29 years at the fire department,” Mayor Kapszukiewicz has said. “He’s someone who’s really involved in his community. That’s important.”
Chief Byrd will begin shadowing the fire chief during his last days. Chief Santiago said he has prepared a transition packet and the mayor’s safety director and deputy chief of staff, Karen Poore said the Santiago administration will help lead the next chief during the transition period.
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