Elgin n City Manager Rick Kozal Wednesday promoted from within and named Assistant Fire Chief Dave Schmidt as Elgin's next fire chief — on Schmidt's birthday.
Kozal said the city will be using its own human resources department to conduct a broad search to find Schmidt's replacement. Elgin's fire department is arranged to have two assistant chief spots, with the other currently held by Bryan McMahan.
"Dave Schmidt has the benefit of nearly 30 years of experience in the Elgin Fire Department to guide his decisions as Chief," Kozal said. "Working as the Assistant Chief during the past five years, Dave has been instrumental in implementing significant cost containment and efficiency measures in the Fire Department's operations." Schmidt steps into a post that was held by John Fahy, who retired this summer after more than five years as chief and 30 years as a firefighter.