(KNSI) – St. Cloud’s new fire chief was sworn in on Thursday afternoon during a Change of Command Ceremony. St. Cloud Fire Chief Matthew Love left the Fort Myers Beach Fire Department for the Granite City. He replaces Interim Fire Chief Bill Mund, who took over after Fire Chief Dean Wrobbel retired earlier this year. Love talked about the first thing on his agenda now that he’s chief.
Photo taken by Jake Judd (KNSI News)
“My first step is to learn as much as possible, but after that, I think we’ll strategically prioritize where do we want to up our game a little bit. What’s the next level of service, and that’s both external to our community but, it’s also internal. I’m a big believer when our leaders get better everybody gets better.”
Love was hired in September after a nationwide search. He says he’s happy to be in St. Cloud with his family.
“The build up and getting here we feel like we waited forever. We are so excited to be here. My family is here with me. We just moved into our new home and it feels like home. So we’re so proud to be here. We’re enjoying the snow. We’re preparing for the cold. I know it’s gonna be a change for us. But growing up in Colorado, it helped a little bit prepare us but I tell you, we just couldn’t be more excited.”
Photo taken by Jake Judd (KNSI News)
He says he accepted the position in part because of the SCFD’s excellent reputation and dedication to service. Love has been a firefighter since 1997 and has been a fire chief since 2009. He’s worked in Colorado Springs, Colorado and Fort Myers Beach, Florida.
Chief Love was selected by the Fire Chiefs’ Association of Lee County, Florida, as Fire Chief of the Year in February 2019.
The St. Cloud Fire Department is made of 70 firefighters.
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