After much change within the upper ranks of the Springfield Fire Department this year, nine firefighters were promoted Wednesday to fill vacancies.
Three captains advanced to battalion chief, allowing for three driver-engineers to move up to captain and three firefighters to be elevated to driver-engineer.
“I am excited to announce these promotions; all nine have served the citizens of Springfield well and will continue to do so in their new leadership positions,” Fire Chief Allen Reyne said in a statement.
Formerly captains, Gary Self, Donald “Donnie” Richardson and Gerald “Jerry” Pettit are the newest battalion chiefs of the fire department’s training division, according to Reyne.
Self, who joined the department in 2000 and is the Firefighter Local 37 president, will be the department safety officer in the training division. He was temporarily promoted to the position in May.