Commissioners down to two in search for Quincy’s new fire chief

QUINCY — The Board of Fire and Police Commissioners announced Thursday that it has selected two finalists for the position of chief of the Quincy Fire Department.

Barry Cheyne, chairman of the board, said in a press release that Steve Salrin, deputy chief of operations for the Quincy Fire Department, and Shawn Smith, assistant chief with the Hannibal (Mo.) Fire Department, were selected after a month-long search conducted by the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association (IFCA).

Cheyne said the commissioners also selected a third candidate — Paul Chocola, who had been selected on July 22, 2024, as the deputy fire chief for the Oak Forest Fire Department. Chocola, who has been employed with the Oak Forest Fire Department for 31 years, informed Cheyne Thursday afternoon he was withdrawing from the job search.

“It’s a good list,” Cheyne said in an interview before learning of Chocola’s decision. “We had a good top four or five, but these three certainly shined above all the rest.”

Salrin and Smith will conduct a city orientation and participate in an evening social on Feb. 2. They will participate in a day-long assessment conducted by the IFCA on Feb. 3, then interview with a stakeholder group and with the fire and police commissioners on Feb. 4.

The process for selecting the fire chief is the same one used to select Adam Yates as the chief of the Quincy Police Department in June 2022.

Cheyne said he expects a selection of the new fire chief by Feb. 11 and an official announcement by the Quincy City Council on Feb. 18.

Members of the stakeholder group, selected by Mayor Mike Troup, are aldermen Mike Rein (R-5) and Jack Holtschlag (D-7), Quincy School Board President Shelley Arns, John Wood Community College President Bryan Renfro and Troup.

The score received from the stakeholder group will count toward 35 percent of a candidate’s total score. The score received from the fire and police commissioners also will count toward 35 percent of a candidate’s final score, and the score received from the IFCA will count toward 30 percent of the final score.

Salrin has been a deputy chief of operations in Quincy since January 2020. His primary responsibilities are fire prevention, code enforcement and fleet maintenance/repair management. He previously served 10 years in Quincy as the deputy chief of administration

Salrin is an Area 8 representative for the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association. Within the IFCA, he is a member of the state fair committee and the funeral committee. He was elected to the position of secretary for the Central Illinois Fire Chiefs Association. He is a member of the Illinois Terrorism Task Force (ITTF) and is an ITTF training committee member.

He’s also a member of the International Code Council and a past fire service instructor for John Wood Community College and the Illinois Fire Service Institute.

Smith has been with the Hannibal Fire Department since November 2008. He was promoted to captain in June 2021 and promoted to assistant chief in August 2024.

Smith has been a Homeland Security Response team coordinator in Missouri Region B since 2018, managing regional disaster preparedness initiatives covering 16 counties. He also has been a CERFP rope rescue team leader/manager/non-commissioned officer in charge with the Illinois National Guard since 2018, directing search and extraction operations for disaster response missions.

He’s been a member of the 615th Engineer Detachment Firefighting Headquarters with the Illinois National Guard in Sparta since December 2006, and he’s been the fire chief of the 615^th since October 2019. He commands three statewide firefighting units, overseeing operational readiness, equipment maintenance and training for 18 firefighters.

Either Smith or Salrin will replace Bernie Vahlkamp, who after 27½ years with the Quincy Fire Department — including the last 3½ as chief — has decided to retire effective Feb. 28. Vahlkamp replaced Joe Henning as chief in July 2021. He was promoted to lieutenant in May 2002, captain in May 2009 and assistant chief in August 2015.

Quincy has never hired someone outside of the Quincy Fire Department to be the city’s fire chief.