NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY Marshalltown fire chief finalists Gabe Rose, left, and Curtis Raue, right, answered questions from the public during an event at the Police/Fire building last Thursday evening. Rose is currently the chief of the Keokuk Fire Department, while Raue is a captain with the MFD who also serves as a volunteer firefighter in his home community of Toledo.

MARSHALLTOWN — Curtis Raue, a South Tama County graduate who still resides in his hometown of Toledo, is one of two finalists for the Marshalltown fire chief position as current Chief David Rierson worked his last day in the office last Friday and is in the process of using vacation days before his tenure officially ends on March 21.

Raue, who is also a volunteer firefighter in Toledo and a substitute teacher in the STC school district, has served the MFD since 2010 and was promoted to captain in 2022. During a forum held at the Police/Fire building last Thursday evening, he and fellow finalist Gabe Rose, the current fire chief in Keokuk, laid out their visions for the future if they would be selected for the position. A third finalist, Cedar Rapids Fire Department Battalion Chief Brian Giachino, withdrew from consideration last week.

During the public forum, Raue discussed the evolving role of fire departments and the scope of their duties.

“Fire service is here to do what everybody else can’t find an answer for, basically. When somebody’s got a problem that they don’t know what their next step is, they call us, and because of that, we’ve got so many different things that we’ve got to be prepared to address,” he said. “Obviously, fire, for our namesake, that’s we’d better be the best at, but we go on so many medical calls, car accidents, hazardous materials when the truck driver forgets to pop the handle on his diesel tank and runs it down into the storm drain, we’ve gotta know how to deal with that.”

A firefighter in attendance said the department is fully staffed “on paper” but added that they often show up to a fire with just six firemen while the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) calls for 12. Currently, the department employs 24 firefighters along with Chief Rierson, Deputy Chief Christopher Cross and Fire Marshal Josh Warnell.

Both candidates stressed the importance of a strong relationship with the public, and Raue said it was time to move beyond the mindset of “give us money or people are gonna die.”

“That doesn’t work anymore. That’s not enough. We’ve gotta get detailed messages out,” he said. “We did the Citizens Academy for several years, and that helped educate a couple groups of people, and then we’ve had problems getting people signed up for it. So it kind of fell off, and it’s a challenge because that gives the perception of ‘People don’t even want to learn what you’re trying to do.’ I doubt that that’s the case, it’s just (that) we need to find out where those conversations need to be had and start having them with the right people.”

Raue also warned that while firefighters aren’t currently being filmed every time they get off the truck, he worried the day may yet come.

“We are going to be in the same boat as the cops eventually, and the fire service is preparing for it,” Raue said. “You go to conferences with speakers from all over the country and they say ‘We’ve still got it good right now. Don’t take it for granted.’ And there’s a big push to bring a learning culture throughout the fire service for everybody to be improved, to be on their game the best that they can… Our day is coming. It just is. It’s kind of scary, but if we work our butts off and be the best that we can, maybe we can head it off before it gets to be as bad as what the cops are (dealing with).”

When asked why he wanted the chief job, Raue said he felt that it would give him a chance to continue serving the department where he has spent his entire professional career and carry on Rierson’s legacy. He also shared his long-term vision for the MFD.

“We’ve had a culture for a long time that worked good enough, and we can compete with anybody. And we certainly are a good department, but I think we can be rockstars if we want to be,” he said. “I just want to inspire people to look for learning opportunities outside their comfort zone and grow to their full potential and just provide the best service we possibly can.”

The two finalists were set to interview with city councilors and other department heads last Friday before the council makes a final decision based on Mayor/Acting City Administrator Joel Greer’s recommendation at a future meeting.