CHULA VISTA –
After a nine-month nationwide search, the Chula Vista City Council has selected a new fire chief from southern Arizona.
Stephen Jeff Piechura, 49, chief of the Northwest Fire/-Rescue District in Tucson, accepted the job yesterday, said Chula Vista spokeswoman Liz Pursell.
Piechura will be paid a base annual salary of $161,000 and start in early November. He replaces Douglas Perry, who retired in December 2007 after 11 years with the department.
The new hire was welcomed by Steve Miller, president of the Chula Vista Firefighters Association.
“We think that Piechura's selection from outside the department will help bring the district into the 21st century, modernize it, and improve service to our constituency,” Miller said yesterday.
Piechura began his career in 1979 when he joined Arizona's Rural/Metro Corp. as a firefighter for Maricopa County and Mesa, Ariz. In 1981, he was hired as a firefighter/engineer by the Scottsdale Fire Department. He joined the Northwest fire district as a captain in 1984 and was promoted to chief in 1991.
In his new job, Piechura will manage a $23 million operating budget and oversee a sworn staff of 117 firefighters, who work from nine fire stations.
Piechura holds a bachelor's degree in Applied Science in Fire Management from Arizona State University, Pursell said.
In 2005, Piechura was named “Fire Chief of the Year” by the Arizona Fire Chiefs Association. He teaches fire service ethics at the Arizona State University Fire Institute.
Piechura is married and a father of five, and he likes to hike and train his two golden retrievers.
Mark Arner: (619) 542-4556; mark.arner@uniontrib.com
