Veteran VA Firefighter Named NC Chief

Oct. 09 -- Durham has named a northern Virginia firefighter and mayor its new fire chief.

Robert J. Zoldos II will start work Nov. 13, replacing interim Chief Chris Iannuzzi.

Zoldos is the former three-term mayor of the small town of Lovettsville, Virginia, which is in Loudoun County in northern Virginia.

He has worked for the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department for 25 years, according to Durham’s announcement. He is the deputy chief of the department’s health, safety and wellness division. He has also led Fairfax County’s urban search and rescue team.

Zoldos was a rescue squad officer at the Pentagon after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack. He has also been deployed multiple times for hurricanes, including Katrina.

Chief Dan Curia retired from the Durham department this summer, as the city and county fire departments merged. The first fire station to open since the merger, Station 17, opened this week on Leesville Road in southeastern Durham. Curia is now the fire chief in Charleston, South Carolina.

“Chief Zoldos has an incredible breadth of experience, not only in the fire and emergency medical services, but also in urban search and rescue. ... We felt his extensive leadership experience and on-the-ground ‘know-how’ was a great fit for Durham,” City Manager Tom Bonfield said in a press release Tuesday.

Zoldos also previously worked as an adjunct fire instructor and fire rescue specialist for Loudoun County Fire and Rescue Services. He is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and George Mason University.

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