The City of Sparks has narrowed down the search for its next fire chief to six finalists, who will take part in a two-day assessment and interview process on October 11-12th to try to clinch the position.
When former City of Sparks Fire Chief Jim Reid retired this past April, the city actively began recruiting for someone to fill the position. It hired executive recruiting firm Ralph Andersen & Associates based out of Rocklin, California, to help conduct a nationwide search to find the best candidates. It was open from July 6-August 17th and 32 applications were received. The city then reviewed the applicants’ resumes and history of online press coverage about the applicants and conducted two rounds of interviews.
Given the past controversy about former Fire Chief Jim Reid’s departure, a city spokesperson confirmed that it surveyed Sparks Fire employees to gather input about the traits they look for in their next fire chief, which it used to choose their finalists.
Here are the six finalists and their related experience in fire service:
• Travis Anderson, 24 years in the fire service, including acting as the Deputy Fire Chief for the North Las Vegas Fire Department
• Brett Jeremy Headman, 27 years in the fire service, acting as the Deputy Fire Chief for the Provo Fire Department in Utah
• Kevin Jakubos, 20 years in the fire service, acting as the Battalion Chief for the Sparks Fire Department
• Mark Lawson, 32 years in the fire service; experience includes being the former Assistant Chief/Division Chief of Operations for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CALFIRE) of the Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit in Merced, California
• Mark Rohlfing, 39 years in the fire service, acting as Assistant Fire Chief for the Bellevue Fire Department in Nebraska
• Walt White, 35 years in the fire service; his last title was Fire Chief for the Amador Fire Protection District in California
“I am excited to get a closer look at the candidates under the challenging circumstances we will create through the assessment center and interview process,” said Sparks City Manager Neil Krutz. “I am confident the next Sparks Fire Chief will rise to the top of this group.”
The City of Sparks expects that it will announce its next fire chief soon after the October 11-12 interviews take place.
For more information about the City of Sparks Fire Department, visit www.cityofsparks.us.
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