Candidates have until 5:00 P.M. on Friday, Oct. 26 to apply to be Burlington’s next fire chief.
The nationwide search has yielded just five candidates with two days to go.
Human Resources Director Bev Hunter and City Manager Jim Ferneau will review applications to make sure the candidates meet specific guidelines.
The candidates must have a Bachelor’s Degree and 15 years of firefighting experience. They must also be serving as a chief officer in a career municipal fire department.
Hunter and Ferneau will interview the candidates who qualify to determine who should be certified by the Burlington Civil Service Commission as finalists.
The candidates who make it that far in the process will go through more interviews, an assessment center and a public meeting the week after Thanksgiving.
Hunter says the top candidate should be identified by early December, which will allow the new fire chief to be in place by early January, at the latest.
Burlington needs a new fire chief because former Chief Tom Clements accepted a demotion several weeks ago.
It remains unclear why Clements was demoted and why he will be allowed to maintain his salary as chief while serving as deputy chief.
Hunter says there is money in the budget to accommodate two chief-level salaries.
