Nine of 27 applicants for fire chief to interview with Civil Service Commission; nine includes all three in-house candidates

Nine of 27 men who have applied to be the city's next fire chief will be interviewed via teleconference by the city's Civil Service Commission on Dec. 14 and 16, Conni Huber, the city's human resources director, reported on Monday.

Three of the 27 applicants are current members of the Cedar Rapids Fire Department, and all three in-house applicants will be among the nine interviewed via phone by the Civil Service Commission. Applicants from 16 states and one from elsewhere in Iowa were among the 27 applicants.

After the December interviews, the commission will certify an applicant list. City Manager Jim Prosser then will review the list and decide who will be called in for final interviews.

Those final interviews will take place in January and will include time for the public to meet the finalists, Huber said.

By City Charter, the city manager picks the fire chief with the “advice and consent” of the City Council.

Steve Havlik, the city's current fire chief, has announced he will retire in March.