Columbia’s new fire chief has been a longtime fire official in Spokane Washington.
Columbia city manager De’Carlon Seewood appointed Brian Schaeffer to the position this morning, saying Mr. Schaeffer brings invaluable experience to this role. Seewood says Schaeffer has demonstrated his ability to be forward-thinking about priorities and commit to levels of service CFD continually strives to achieve. 939 the Eagle News asked Mr. Seewood about the fire chief search during his May 30 state of the city address. Mr. Seewood said that day that he was looking for a leader, saying CFD has made significant progress in recent years:
“And so it’s someone who understands that. Someone who can make sure that we’re continually moving forward and not falling back. And so it’s somebody who can be a leader who can lead that department,” Mr. Seewood said that day.
Mr. Schaeffer served as the assistant chief and fire chief in Spokane Washington from 2005 to 2024. Spokane’s population is about 230,000 so it’s larger than Columbia, which has about 129,000 people. Mr. Schaeffer describes Columbia as an extraordinary community.
Former Columbia fire chief Clayton Farr Jr. retired in April. The other three finalists were all local candidates: Columbia deputy fire chief and Hickman graduate John Ambra, MU Health Care clinical manager and former Boone County Fire Protection District battalion chief Chuck Doss and Columbia assistant fire chief Jeffrey Heidenreich. The city held a meet-and-greet with the four finalists in early June.
Under the city charter, Columbia’s city manager makes the decision on fire chief.
