Dave Engler was promoted to become the next Lincoln Fire and Rescue chief Wednesday.
Dave Engler was promoted to become the next Lincoln Fire and Rescue chief Wednesday.
Dave Engler was promoted to become the next Lincoln Fire and Rescue chief Wednesday.
News Conference: Police and Fire Chief Search Update 3-31-2021
Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird on Wednesday named Dave Engler the permanent chief of Lincoln Fire and Rescue.
Engler became acting fire chief last fall, taking the helm from Micheal Despain, the former chief who retired then returned to lead the department on a contract basis while the city looked to resume a search for a permanent fire chief.
Dave Engler, Lincoln Fire and Rescue battalion chief and acting fire chief.
Despain served as acting chief beginning in May of last year but told the mayor he wished to step down at the end of November, a news release said.
Engler's nomination must be approved by the Lincoln City Council.
Engler, who was promoted to battalion chief in 2018, was one of two finalists in the most recent fire chief search.
The 24-year firefighting veteran started at Lincoln Fire and Rescue as a firefighter-paramedic in 1996 and made fire captain in 2006. He holds a bachelor's degree in public administration from Doane University and a master's degree in negotiation and dispute resolution from Creighton University.
Engler was recently accepted into the 2021 Fire Service Executive Development Institute.
Gaylor Baird said she has had the opportunity to see Engler's integrity, expertise and intangible leadership skills in action the past few months and came away impressed by the respect she saw firefighters had for him.
Engler called the mayor's confidence in him along with his support from firefighters and community stakeholders humbling.
“I’m truly honored for the nomination to lead Lincoln Fire and Rescue and the great group of professionals that we have in that organization,” Engler said at a news conference Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday, the city posted its job listing for the open Lincoln police chief position. Applicants will be accepted through April 26.
Gaylor Baird has tapped the Police Executive Research Forum to recruit and vet candidates for that position, and once finalists are selected, the city will hold a public forum in June before an offer is made and nomination forwarded to the City Council for approval.
Respondents to a survey about the position want the next chief to be committed to the community policing model, supportive of officers, focused on diversity and equity in policing and Lincoln generally, and dedicated to transparency and accountability, the mayor said.
PHOTOS: FIREFIGHTERS IN ACTION
Photos: Firefighters in action
Photos: Firefighters in Action
A firefighter backs off from the heat of the flames Sunday coming from the roof of Romantix, 921 O St. Fire crews responded to the adult novelty store blaze at about 9 a.m. and needed most of the afternoon to extinguish the flames. The building is described as a total loss, but no one was injured.
Photos: Firefighters in Action
A massive plume of fire erupts in front of Lincoln firefighters Nick Thill (left) and Mark Sullivan moments after Sullivan ventilated the roof with the blade of his chainsaw at a working fire at 1717 A Street in Lincoln on Wednesday evening, April 6, 2011.
Photos: Firefighters in Action
With a fire hose at the ready, Lincoln firefighters look over the underside of a pickup truck which rolled over at the intersection of 16th and L Streets Monday afternoon, April 11, 2011. The scanner call mentioned there was leaking gasoline. One person was taken away on a stretcher to an ambulance.
Photos: Firefighters in Action
Marie Yost (left) and Nancy Harter (right) watch from the median on O Street as Lincoln firefighters pour water on the smouldering remains of the Lincoln Public Schools adminstration building on Tuesday morning, May 31, 2011. Harter, who worked in the building for 11 years, said a supervisor contacted staff at 6 a.m. to let them know of the fire.
Photos: Firefighters in Action
Heavy smoke envelopes the house fire at 236 S. 27th Street as Lincoln firefighters apply water to the attic fire on Tuesday afternoon, August 16, 2011.
Photos: Firefighters in Action
Lincoln Firefighter Nancy Engelbrecht (right) attempts to comfort Shari Elder as Elder watches smoke pour from the apartment building where she lives on Wednesday, March 13, 2013, at 27th and Randolph streets.
Photos: Firefighters in Action
Protected against the 1600 degree temperatures emanating from the fire pit, Dorchester Vol. Fire Dept. firefighter Brant Pracheil tosses the Stars and Stripes into the flames on Tuesday, June 14, 2016, during a flag retirement ceremony at the Dorchester American Legion Post 264. A total of 1957 unserviceable flags from the communities of Dorchester, York, Fairmont, Lincoln, Wilber, Fairbury and Crete were retired from life during the ceremony.
Photos: Firefighters in Action
The Stars and Strips opens to the swirling wind from the ladder of Lincoln Fire & Rescue Truck 1 on Friday, March 31, 2017, during the bridge dedication ceremony for Staff Sgt. Patrick Hamburger at the Spirit of '76 Armory.
Photos: Firefighters in Action
Surrounded by black smoke, a Lincoln Fire Department firefighter uses a pike pole to open the porch ceiling at the scene of a house fire on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019, at 1800 Euclid Avenue.
Photos: Firefighters in Action
Matt Barnard, with Beatrice Rural Fire District, uses a torch to spread flames during a prescribed burn of 45 acres of the prairie at Homestead National Monument of America on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2010.
Photos: Firefighters in Action
Lincoln Fire and Rescue teams help Alex Lekai and his mother, not pictured, evacuate from her south bottoms home on Thursday, May 7, 2015.
Photos: Firefighters in Action
Cuddling her grandson's dog Milo, homeowner Deborah Ganz is consoled by a neighbor as she watches her garage burn on Wednesday, April 6, 2016, in west Lincoln.
Photos: Firefighters in Action
A Lincoln firefighter directs his hose on the roof of La Mexicana Market & Restaurant, 17th and P Streets, on Monday, April 13, 2015.
Reach the writer at 402-473-2657 or rjohnson@journalstar.com.
On Twitter @LJSRileyJohnson.
