Adam Thiel, deputy chief of emergency services in Goodyear, Ariz., is coming home to Northern Virginia to become Alexandrias new fire chief. City Manager Jim Hartmann announced Thiels appointment last week.

Chief Thiel is the professional we need at this time to take our fire department to the next level of excellence and professionalism. His background, experience, and technical knowledge will benefit the men and women of our fire department, Hartmann said.

Thiel has been employed by the City of Goodyear since November, 2004. Before that, he served as Executive Director of the Virginia Department of Fire Programs. During his tenure as executive director, he served as a member of the Commonwealth Preparedness Working Group, the Virginia Emergency Response Council, the State Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Advisory Committee, and the Critical Infrastructure Working Group. From 1995 until 2002, Thiel was a Fairfax County firefighter.  

Thiel has Bachelor degrees in history (UNC-Chapel Hill) and fire science (University of Maryland College Park), and a Masters in public administration from George Mason University. In 2004, he attended the Harvard University Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government.

My excitement about this opportunity is tempered by a sense of the awesome responsibility inherent in serving the community, said Thiel. I appreciate the confidence of the citys management team and look forward to working alongside the men and women of the Alexandria Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Department.

Thiel will assume his responsibilities in Alexandria on Aug 6. He replaces Gary Mesaris who left the Fire Department in March to become the fire chief for the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority.