City of Peoria Press Release
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Peoria Fire Chief Selection
Former Phoenix Assistant Fire Chief will fill vacant position for city.
6/6/2012
City Manager Carl Swenson announced today that Bobby Ruiz, a former Assistant
Fire Chief for the Phoenix Fire Department, is his selection to become the new
Fire Chief for the city of Peoria. Ruiz has more than 35 years firefighter
experience, all with Phoenix. He will be presented to the Peoria City Council at
their June 19th City Council Meeting for conformation.
Still
with "a lot of gas in the tank," Ruiz will take over a position which has had an
interim leader since November when then Fire Chief Thomas Solberg resigned
following a dispute with the state retirement system.
"Peoria
is a good fit," said Ruiz. "I've researched some of the issues that the Peoria
Fire Department has and they are very doable. They have great people and they
are very well-trained."
Peoria did a focused search with the
help of California-based firm Bob Murray & Associates, and invited four
finalists to Peoria to interview with the City’s executive team.
"We are very fortunate to have someone of the caliber of Chief Ruiz to lead our
Fire Department," Swenson said. "He brings a wealth of experience, and expertise
in Fire management, leadership, and Emergency Medical service delivery."
Ruiz retired from the Phoenix Fire Department in December, 2011. He began his
career as a firefighter in 1974 and rose to the rank of Assistant Fire Chief in
2007. In addition to his firefighting career, Ruiz has been an associate
professor at Arizona State University for 13 years.
One of the goals of the new Fire Chief is to build onto the outreach programs
already established by the Fire Department. "My whole life I have been very
involved with the community and plan to stay involved with the community that I
serve," said Ruiz.
In addition, Ruiz plans to continue his strong relationship with the Automatic
Aid Consortium, which is a 28 city and jurisdiction program where the closest
most appropriate fire service resource is dispatched regardless of
jurisdictional boundaries. Ruiz is one of the original designers of the program.
Ruiz earned his Bachelor's degree in organizational management from University
of Phoenix and a master's in educational leadership from Northern Arizona
University in Flagstaff.
Ruiz starts his duties as Fire Chief for the Peoria Fire Department in early
July and his salary will be $145,000.
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