Appointment of Interim Fire Chief

Posted 06/15/09

City Administrator Lew Steinbrecher announces the appointment of Deputy Fire Chief Ron Miller to the position of Interim Fire Chief for the City of Moline. The appointment will become effective on July 19, 2009.

Deputy Chief Miller has been a member of the Fire Department since 1981 (27 years of service with Moline). He has been on the Department’s supervisory command staff since 1998 when he was appointed to Lieutenant, and later became Deputy Fire Chief in 2005. He is a past president of the International Association of Fire Firefighters (IAFF). Ron was a graduate of the first paramedics/EMT program through Moline Public Hospital. He is certified in Haz Mat Incident Command, Fire Ground Management, and Command and General Staff Incident Command. Ron was awarded the “Outstanding Rescue” award by Representative Pat Verschoore in 2004.

Deputy Chief Ron Miller is highly respected by his colleagues in the Fire Department. “Ron Miller possesses the character and courage to lead the Moline Fire Department as they continue their high standard of performance,” said Lew Steinbrecher, City Administrator. “His years of experience, training and personal development in fire services and emergency medical response will guide this department to continue to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of these invaluable community services to Moline residents during a time when additional resources are not available.”

“The selection of Deputy Chief Miller will allow the greatest amount of continuity regarding customer service with minimal disruption both internally and externally due to his intimate knowledge of all areas of fire administration. His knowledge and familiarity concerning all aspects of public safety, will enable the department to best serve the interests of the community and of firefighters themselves and allow this department to continue to be on the cutting edge of fire, EMS and rescue operations,” said Fire Chief Rick Jewell. “I congratulate Ron and look forward to promoting a smooth transition process and will do all I can on a personal as well as professional level to see that he has all of the tools and information necessary to administer to the needs of the City of Moline Fire Department. I believe Ron’s selection as interim chief of the Moline Fire Department is a great choice. His values of honesty, integrity and ethics will uphold the traditions of this department and serve all of us in an effective and informed manner.”

City Administrator Lew Steinbrecher will continue to evaluate alternatives for the position of Moline Fire Chief. On June 3, Mr. Steinbrecher announced that creating a Joint Fire Chief position with the City of Rock Island has been eliminated as a feasible alternative due to a number of factors, including economic reasons.