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David W. Strayer, a more than 30 year veteran of Arizona fire service work, has been selected as the new Chief of the Town of Florence Fire Department. Interim Town Manager Lisa Garcia made the announcement after the recruitment process was concluded with interviews last week. Strayer has been serving as Interim Chief since May.
“We received applications from individuals in Arizona and other states in response to our recruitment,” explained Interim Town Manager Garcia. “Chief Strayer has done a fine job as interim chief over the past several months, and it was clear through our interview process that he was the right candidate to manage our department and lead the department in the years to come. I’m very pleased to have him as a member of our Town leadership team.”
Chief Strayer began his fire service career as a paid-on-call firefighter with the City of Casa Grande in 1980. After being hired full-time, he promoted through the ranks and retired from the Casa Grande department in 2006 as a Division Chief in charge of operations and training. Chief Strayer next went to work for the City of Avondale Fire & Rescue Department as a Division/Battalion Chief, and was responsible for three stations and coordinated emergency management of the bi-annual NASCAR races held at Phoenix International Raceway. He left the Avondale department in 2012.
Chief Strayer earned an Associate’s Degree from Phoenix College and a BA in Public Safety Administration from Grand Canyon University. Strayer has also served as an instructor in fire science and emergency management programs at Central Arizona College, Arizona State Fire Marshal’s Office, Arizona Division of Emergency Management, and the Arizona Center for Fire Service Excellence.
“I’ve been extremely impressed with the quality of facilities and equipment we have here in Florence. But even more so with the skills, dedication and commitment of our fire department staff,” Chief Strayer commented. “Having worked in a couple of larger departments, I can assure everyone our folks measure up very well. I’ve also come to fully appreciate the historic significance of Florence and especially how the historic structures in town contribute to who we are. This makes it even more important to make sure we’re prepared in every way to respond to structure fires,” Strayer added.