Eau Claire names new fire chief

May 18—EAU CLAIRE — The city's Police and Fire Commission on Thursday named Matt Jaggar as Eau Claire's new fire chief.

Jaggar, 47, who has risen through the ranks at the Eau Claire Fire Department over 24 years, takes over the top job at 7 a.m. today(Friday).

"I am extremely excited for this opportunity," he said after Thursday's meeting, adding his thanks to the commission for selecting him.

Jaggar came to Eau Claire in 1998 for the first full-time job he'd had as a firefighter, after he'd spent the previous four years working for smaller departments in central and eastern Wisconsin.

The Stevens Point native remembered working as a third-shift cashier at a grocery store when a volunteer firefighter going through his checkout line asked Jaggar if he'd like to come to a meeting and learn more about the profession.

"I really loved what the fire service was about as I learned more about it," Jaggar said.

At 18, he became a volunteer firefighter for the Town of Hull in Portage County and that department paid for his training.

His next career move was joining the Grand Chute Fire Department, which covers a 23-square-mile portion of Wisconsin's Fox Valley, as a paid on-call firefighter in 1997.

The prospect of working full-time as a firefighter brought him to Eau Claire, starting for the city Fire Department on Aug. 24, 1998.

Later on he became a lieutenant, and then a captain, a rank that made him see the potential he could become fire chief someday.

"As I matured in the occupation and progressed in my career, my scope broadened," he said. "I had the desire to give back to the organization with the skill sets I possessed."

Building upon the associate's degree in applied science in fire protection that he got in the earliest part of his career from Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, Jaggar began taking online courses as he sought to take on higher leadership roles.

"Since I've had the desire to advance my career I've been in school since 2012," he said.

Gradually he earned his bachelor's degree in fire administration from Columbia Southern University (Alabama) and he's progressing through the final courses needed to complete his master's degree in public administration-emergency services management from the same institution.

While he was working on his education at a pace that still gave him time to spend with his family in his off-hours, Jaggar continued to rise in the department.

After he'd served in the role of battalion chief, Jaggar became the deputy chief of operations in charge of fire suppression in August 2019.

The department's two other deputy chiefs oversee emergency medical service and fire prevention/community risk reduction.

In taking on the role of fire chief, Jaggar listed his three broad goals for the job: ensuring exemplary service to the community continues; building and bolstering relations within the department, City Hall and the community; and to expand the department's community engagement.

Police and Fire Commission member Stephanie Finn said the decision to choose Jaggar came after consideration of four strong candidates who interviewed for the position. Panels made of community members and stakeholders also provided input on the candidates that the commission weighed.

The commission gave direction to city staff at a previous meeting to reach out to Jaggar to offer the position, which he accepted.

While Jaggar's duties as chief begin today, the ceremonial swearing in is scheduled for early next month. That ceremony is slated for 4 p.m. on June 5 at Fire Station No. 10, 820 Malden Ave.

Jaggar is the Eau Claire Fire Department's 22nd chief, according to a city news release.

He succeeds Chris Bell, who served as fire chief for six years before stepping down on April 30. Bell had given about two months notice, allowing time for the city to seek out candidates to fill the fire chief position.

Between Bell's departure and the appointment of Jaggar to the job, another deputy chief, Allyn Bertrang, had served as interim fire chief.

Bertrang announced during Thursday's meeting that he'd submitted his notice to the city that he will be retiring in August.

Earlier in the same meeting, Bertrang had noted that the Fire Department has been working diligently to fill openings created by firefighters who left for other jobs or retirement, as well as new positions created by a recent referendum.

Of the eight current openings, Bertrang said there were six candidates who have been offered jobs and one person in the process of being interviewed.

Eau Claire voters approved creating six new firefighter positions in November as part of a city referendum to fund a total 15 new public safety jobs through a $1.45 million increase in property taxes.