Brian Coddington, Communications Director, No Phone Number Available
Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at 9:33 a.m.
The City Council unanimously confirmed Brian Schaeffer on Monday night as the new chief of the Spokane Fire Department.
Schaeffer, who has served as interim chief since January, takes over a 323-member department that covers 69.5 square miles from 16 stations. He joined the department in 2005 as assistant chief and was selected from a list of 28 nationwide applicants.
“Brian earned the overwhelming confidence of those who already knew him and those who got to know him a little bit better throughout the search process,” Spokane Mayor David Condon said when he appointed Schaeffer last month. “I can’t tell you how many times members of the community have stopped me and said why are you spending so much time recruiting and interviewing other applicants when the best candidate for the job is already doing it in an interim capacity. Ultimately, they were right and we listened, but we owed it to Spokane and Brian to allow him an opportunity to shine amongst his peers.”
Many of Schaeffer’s peers from partner fire and emergency management agencies showed their support for him during the confirmation process at the City Council meeting. Those who spoke described Schaeffer as professional, caring, supportive and well-respected locally, regionally and nationally.
