John Staley, a 26-year veteran of the Billings Fire Department, is planning a homecoming beginning next month.
Staley, 59, chief of the Thornton, Colo., fire department since 2008, has been named chief of the Lockwood Fire Department. He’ll begin his new duties Aug. 15 and will be paid $78,500 annually.
In a bit of coincidence, Staley, who succeeds Bill Rash, the new assistant chief of the Billings Fire Department, sat on the selection committee in 2007 that chose Rash as the Lockwood chief. More recently, Rash was a member of the committee that helped bring Staley to Lockwood.
“I found it quite humorous, and so did Bill,” Staley said by telephone Friday.
Staley beat out 10 other applicants for Lockwood’s top job.
“I’m very excited to get back, because we’ve always considered Billings our home,” Staley said. “What attracted me to the position is all the growth they are expecting, the new station that’s in the books and that they’re talking about adding a deputy fire chief.”
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“I can’t wait to get started,” he added. “They have been very patient, but they’ve been very up front about somebody getting started right away. I hope to accommodate them.”
In Thornton, a Denver suburb, Staley is leaving behind a 105-member department that he said has focused on collaboration during his six-year tenure as chief. Collaborative purchases with seven other fire agencies have saved taxpayer money, as has establishing a joint firefighter training academy. In addition, a new fire station jointly staffed by firefighters from Thornton and neighboring Brighton, Colo., just opened, saving both departments construction and staffing costs.
“There’s been a lot of collaboration here, and that’s what I have enjoyed the most,” Staley said. “We all get together monthly and think of ways to save cost or at least share the cost.”
He said similar opportunities for collaboration exist for fire departments in Eastern Montana.
“It’s going to be nice to be back home. I hope to renew some new old relationships,” he said.
The Lockwood department he will lead is prepared to extend a warm welcome.
“It’s great news. It’s obvious he’s from the area and he knows the system,” said Capt. Allan Hutton of the Lockwood Fire Department. “He spent a lot of time in the Billings Fire Department and he worked his way up the ranks. We’re excited to have him.”
Staley was named interim chief of the Billings Fire Department in December 2007 after Marv Jochems retired.
Staley was one of two finalists to replace Jochems, but the city chose Paul Dextras, who remains the Billings fire chief.