Crime & Safety

New Waukesha Fire Chief Could Be Named Thursday

Two internal candidates are among four finalists to be the next fire chief in Waukesha.

The newest Waukesha fire chief could be selected on Thursday, according to the Police and Fire Commission’s agenda. The PFC will meet at 5 p.m. to evaluate the finalists for the fire chief’s position and to deliberate on the selection in closed session. The PFC is scheduled to take final action in open session.

There are a total of four finalists, including two internal candidates. Waukesha Battalion Chief Joe Hoffman and Waukesha Assistant Fire Chief Jesse Alba have advanced to the final round, as well as Matthew Haerter and David Litton.

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.

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.

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

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.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from Waukesha