CRFD selects interim fire chief

Assistant Fire Chief Mark English, one of the candidates to succeed former Cedar Rapids Fire Chief Steve Havlik, will serve as chief until the City Council picks a permanent successor.

English's term as interim chief began Saturday, the day after Havlik's 12-year tenure ended, Fire Department spokesman Greg Buelow said.

City Manager Jim Prosser will deliver his recommendation for Havlik's permanent successor at the City Council's March 9 meeting, Buelow said.

In addition to English, the candidates for the job are Scott Goodwin, division chief, Santa Fe Springs, Calif.; Stephen Reid, president/CEO of Stephen M. Reid and Associates, a Washington, D.C. consulting firm, and past deputy chief of emergency medical services in Washington, D.C.; Carl Austerman, who most recently was deputy fire chief, Glendale, Ariz.; Paul Hewitt, combat battalion chief, Salt Lake City, Utah; and two other Cedar Rapids Fire Department commanders - Battalion Chief Gregory Smith and District Fire Chief Brian Giachino.