Mayor Tilton announces interim fire chief

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- Mayor Jeff Tilton is announcing who will serve as interim Fire Chief of the Zanesville Fire Department after previous chief, Eric Waltemire abruptly retired.

Mayor Tilton said there are four fire chiefs that are eligible for the role. He said when offered only two of the chiefs accepted.

“Assistant Chief Doug Hobson will be the interim Fire Chief until we do the test and put the permanent chief in place. Which we have…he has 120 days that he can be interim chief,” said Tilton.

All four chiefs are also eligible to take the test to be the permanent fire chief. Tilton said he has petitioned civil service to start the testing process. It’s unknown whether all four chiefs will take the test. For now, Hobson said he’s looking forward to serving as the Chief.

“I’m definitely excited about it. I appreciate the Mayor giving me the opportunity. You know, the fire service is based upon tradition, pride, that’s what I want to bring back to the department,” said Hobson.

Tilton doesn’t know when the test will be administered. He said he is talking to other cities to see how they do their testing and to see if there’s anything that can be added to the test to make it more well rounded. Tilton said he has seen four chiefs during his seven years in office and would like to fill the position for the long term. The role will ultimately go to whoever scores highest on the test.