Crime & Safety

4 Candidates Named in Waukesha Fire Chief Search [UPDATED]

Two employees at Waukesha Fire Department are being considered to lead the department after Fire Chief Allen La Conte's retirement.

Editor's Note: This article was updated at 3:30 p.m. with information from Bolingbrook Patch about David Litton.

The Waukesha fire chief search has been narrowed to four finalists with two being internal candidates from the Waukesha Fire Department.

Assistant Fire Chief Jesse Alba and Battalion Chief Joe Hoffman have moved to the final round of interviews. The two outside candidates are Matthew Haerter and David Litton, according to information from the Human Resources Department.

Find out what's happening in Waukeshawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Haerter is a battalion chief for the Kenosha Fire Department and Litton serves as fire chief for Bolingbrook, IL. Litton will lose his position soon as fire chief after Bolingbrook cut the fire chief from its 2013-14 budget, according to Bolingbrook Patch.

The Waukesha Police and Fire Commission will interview the finalists again the week of April 8. There were a total of 48 applicants seeking the top position in the Waukesha Fire Department.

Find out what's happening in Waukeshawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Fire Chief Allen LaConte announced his retirement from the Waukesha Fire Department in November 2011 after working for the city for 34 years.

His last day was celebrated at the department in early March 2012.

A quarrel between the Waukesha Common Council and the Police and Fire Commission about funding for a nationwide fire chief search brought a long delay to the hiring process. Because the Police and Fire Commission is an independent body by state statutes, the Common Council can’t interfere with its hiring decisions. However, 

The council was split 7-7, with Mayor Jeff Scrima voting against funding a national recruitment firm.

But the council eventually changed directions after being confronted with the state statutes that require Police and Fire Commissions to remain independent.

Assistant Fire Chief Steve Howard has been acting as fire chief since LaConte left the department.


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