Search for Boone County fire chief begins
The interim chief might apply for the permanent position.
Published Feb. 23, 2009
The Boone County Fire Protection District is in search of a new fire chief.
Since the November retirement of former Fire Chief Steve Paulsell, who served for 38 years, Scott Olsen, the former Operations and Preparedness Bureau chief, stepped in as interim chief.
The fire district is a volunteer fire department for the county, conducting fire safety outside of the city limits. It is the third largest fire department in the state and the largest volunteer fire department in the nation.
The district is on the verge of hiring a consulting company to initiate the search for a permanent fire chief, Division Chief Gale Blomenkamp said.
"The board has just accepted a proposal from Emergency Services Consulting Inc. from out of four proposals from separate companies," Blomenkamp said.
Blomenkamp said the department is looking for a bid and price for the services a consulting firm could offer. Once a consulting firm is chosen, that firm would conduct a nation-wide search for the new chief.
Blomenkamp said the job has not even been posted yet and Olsen, the interim chief, does plan on applying for the position.
The search should take 60 to 90 days, ESCI Senior Vice President Phil Kouwe said.
"The actual contract has not been finalized yet," Kouwe said. "The scope of work is still in development, but typically, we assist the county in developing the skills, knowledge and attributes of their ideal candidate."
Kouwe said the consulting firm would then use the county's profile as a benchmark to measure potential applicants and candidates.
He said they would use interviews, assessment centers, written exercises and background checks in order to find the perfect candidate.
The fire district's board will advertise from the profile they set with ESCI, Blomenkamp said.
"We will determine the number of candidates to interview during the interview process or whatever the board of directors or fire district decides to do," Blomenkamp said.
A teleconference is scheduled this week to finish defining the amount of work and involvement for selection between ESCI and Boone County.
"We will probably have all the parameters ironed out by next week," Kouwe said.
Kouwe said the process would move pretty quickly once all the guidelines are set, but they are wary of moving too quickly.
"But, we want to leave the application period open long enough that we get a sufficient number of qualified candidates," Kouwe said.
Kouwe said an objective third party peer review would probably be involved to review the applicants for interview.
Once the new fire chief is hired, the district will proceed in carrying on its business. If Olsen is not the person hired for the position, he will return to his old position.
Paulsell could not be reached for comment.