New fire chief for Sanford hired

Aug. 12—After several months of searching, the city has selected a new fire chief.

City officials announced Wednesday that they had hired Battalion Chief Matthew Arnold of the York Area United Fire and Rescue in York, Pennsylvania.

Arnold, 44, fills the fire chief vacancy left by former Fire Chief Wayne Barber who retired in January. He will begin work on Oct. 3.

The new chief brings with him 23 years of experience, 14 of those in fire and emergency services. The area the fire department serves covers three townships with 54,000 residents. The fire department has about 60 employees and five stations.

In his position, he oversaw operational and emergency duties and served as the assistant accreditation manager. He also designed and implemented an adult safety academy and youth safety academy, coordinated the locations of their fire departments and pursued accreditation for the department.

In a statement City Manager Hal Hegwer expressed how he felt about Arnold becoming the city's new fire chief. I would also like to thank Battalion Chief Steve Seagroves for his dedicated and excellent service as interim fire chief."

"We are excited for Chief Matthew Arnold to join the Sanford Fire Department and look forward to his leadership and innovation as our city grows."

Outgoing Mayor Chet Mann, said they hired a search firm to solicit candidates for the job and narrowed it down to three before choosing Arnold. Current fire department employees were encouraged to apply as well.

"We tried to take the emotion and local bias out of the process to get the best person we could find," he said.

Mann believes the process worked.

"He (Arnold) has an outstanding resume and credentials," he said. "I'm very pleased with the (selection) process."

Mann said the new chief comes with new ideas and experience that will compliment the city's growth.

Daniel Hoff, chief of York Area United Fire and Rescue, said he is losing someone special, but Sanford is getting someone great.

"I'm losing an extremely good man," he said."The town (Sanford) may have chosen him but they don't realize how much of a good thing they are getting."

Although he knew Arnold had aspirations of one day running his own fire department, Arnold leaving for Sanford is bittersweet.

"I hate to see him go, but I'm awfully proud of him," he said. "He definitely deserves this opportunity."

He said Arnold has an impeccable work ethic and is currently working on his master's degree and is enrolled in the executive fire officer program at the National Fire Academy.

"His best quality is that he listens and he does a really good job of having that balance of listening to the employees and trying to take care of them," he said. "He has a passion for service."

Hoff said Arnold rose up through the ranks coming into the fire department when he was a captain. They've worked together for the past 14 years.

"I wish he could be next door (to me) because he's meant a lot to me personally and professionally," he said. "It's going to hurt a little bit but I'm awfully proud of him."

"You guys are very fortunate," he added. "He will do great things for your community. I just know it."

Arnold said he knows that Hoff would rather him stay put, but he's had his eye on working in the South for a while.

"My wife and I have vacationed in the Carolinas," he said. "We love the environment and the southern hospitality."

He and his wife also enjoy the outdoors, especially being near water.

"We love the outdoors, anything outside, especially involving water, scuba diving, swimming, being out on the beach. That's our happy place."

So he continued to keep looking for openings that would satisfy that "happy place." When he found out about Barber's retirement he made sure to apply when the time came.

"I actually did a search in December to determine where some openings might be," he said. "When i read about Barber's retirement I put Sanford on my radar."

Once the city started accepting applications he did not hesitate to apply.

"I was very very happy about it," he said about being selected as the new fire chief. "The interview process was complex and challenging. I was very relieved when it was over and it (new job) is something I'm looking forward to. I'm really excited about it and I'm happy they felt confident that I could handle this role."

"I'm not going to come in with a set agenda," he said. "I'm going to get to know the people (staff and community) and give the people a chance to get to know me."

He added the city's growth is another reason he wanted to work in Sanford and once in his position he would not make any radical changes.

"I have nothing but respect for Chief Barber and what he has accomplished," he said. "It's an honor to follow that example and be in an organization with such great people."

Arnold said his goal is to create stakeholders in the fire department as well as in the community.

"The community is our customer," he said. "Everything we do is to better the community we serve; improve their quality of life and make people safe.

"We (fire department) need to be involved in the communities outside of the emergencies we respond to," he said.

He said he has always been about serving the community and will be bringing that attitude from York to Sanford.

"I want to work with the city council to provide the best service we can," he said. "I think my role is to continue on the path Chief Barber started and build on that."

Arnold and his wife, Alyson, have five children, a 16 year-old son, three sons who are adults, one adult daughter and three dogs.