NM Fire Chief Says Goodbye to 'Great Adventure'

SANTA FE, NM—David Sperling, Santa Fe County fire chief for 12 years, will be leaving the post soon.

Sperling confirmed Wednesday that he’s departing the county Fire Department to join his wife’s employee benefits firm.

“It’s just time to transition to something new,” said Sperling, who was with the city of Santa Fe Fire Department for 20 years, including a stint as chief there from 2002-2006, before moving to the county.

“It’s been a really great adventure, actually,” he said of his time with the county.

He said the county fire department and 14 volunteer fire districts cover more than 2,000 square miles of territory. Combining and coordinating the efforts of the county’s professional firefighting operation with the volunteer departments “was a great challenge for my leadership skills and my abilities, and I feel we reached a really good place,” he said.

Sperling said the fire department has been stable and there’s a good foundation for a new chief to build on. “I’m really proud of those accomplishments,” he said.

Sperling said he couldn’t call his departure from county government a retirement because he retired from city government previously. Under the state Public Employee Retirement Association, “you can’t do that (retire) twice,” he said.

In a statement provided by a county spokeswoman, Deputy County Manager Tony Flores said, “We wish him the best in all his other endeavors.”

———

©2019 the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.)

Visit the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.) at www.abqjournal.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.