It’s been about a month since Gene Stoddart assumed the role of Interim Lodi Fire Chief, and the former operations chief said he is gradually getting the hang of the new job.
“It’s a steep learning curve but the benefit is I have a great group of people I work with in the city and the members of the fire department,” Stoddart said. “I have a ton of support on top of that as the other chiefs in the county have all offered any assistance or any help I need.”
For Stoddart, the hardest part of the transition has been the increased number of meetings he has to attend.
“Not only am I just focused on the fire department like I was before, now I’m focused on more of the city-level meetings and county fire chief level meetings so that’s where the difference is,” Stoddart said.