She’ll make less money and will have to report to a new person in a high-ranking job she previously held, but Toledo fire Chief Brian Byrd said Karen Marquardt’s bump from assistant chief to battalion chief isn’t a demotion.
Regardless of how it’s characterized, Assistant Chief Marquardt’s pending move down to a lower rank means there are no women left in the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department’s top five positions.
Currently the department’s senior-most female administrator, Assistant Chief Marquardt was also one of three finalists for TFRD’s top post when ex-Chief Luis Santiago stepped away this summer.
Now she’ll return to the role of battalion chief, while Deputy Chief John Kaminski will move into the assistant chief position, effective Friday, Chief Byrd said.