Champaign To Restart Fire Chief Search

After a nationwide search for a fire chief that brought five finalists in for interviews, the city of Champaign is re-launching the process.

In the meantime, city officials have named an interim chief to run the fire department.

In a news release, Champaign City Manager Dorothy David said Friday that “while the candidates from the initial recruitment had a number of impressive credentials, we do not believe that we have found the leader with the right combination of skills and experience to meet our needs”.

David says that Captain Dave Ferber will serve as Acting Fire Chief beginning December 11th, when current Fire Chief Douglas Forsman retires. Ferber has been with the Chicago Fire Department since 1991, and has served as Acting Deputy Chief since last February.

David says the new Fire Chief recruitment process will begin almost immediately, and that interviews could be scheduled after the beginning of 2014.

In the earlier Champaign fire chief search process, the finalists interviewed for the position were Stephen Clarkson, Richard Ennis, Charles Lauss, George Sheets and James Trainor.