October 18, 2021 at 9:54 a.m.
City commission recommends Tonnancour as next fire chief
Assistant chief of Milwaukee County Fire Department excited to move north
City commission recommends Tonnancour as next fire chief
"We engaged in an exhaustive search that included not just locally, not just the state of Wisconsin but also outside the state of Wisconsin to find the best candidate," said PFC chairman Todd McEldowney. "We had a number of very well qualified candidates, we thought they were top notch, and the cream has risen to the top."
McEldowney noted the City Council must approve Tonnancour's hiring and compensation package, among the other hurdles still ahead of him in the process.
"Now it is understood that Brian still has to pass his physical examination, drug screen and psychological evaluation. We have done a preliminary background check, but there is a much more comprehensive background check that will take place," McEldowney said. "And we are very confident and hopeful that the city is going to be fair with him and negotiate a reasonable compensation package and that they are going to do their job to make it happen."
Tonnancour said Rhinelander and its fire department were very attractive.
"Rhinelander is in the Northwoods, it's a beautiful area up here. It is very community-orientated," Tonnancour said. "The fire department here has all the support of the community here. I think it's a great place to be, and I can't wait to move my family up here and settling down."
He said he has fond childhood memories of the area, which also made him want to become the fire chief here.
"As a kid, I used to come up here all the time for the snowmobile races in Eagle River, and we stayed in Rhinelander for it. My grandfather was a postal worker, and when he retired, he used to come over here all the time to go ice fishing all the time," Tonnancour said. "So we used to come up here a lot when I was a kid."
He and his wife Veronica have two children and presently live in Waukesha.
If approved by the council, Tonnancour will inherit a department in transition.
Long-time fire chief Terry Williams retired in January. His assistant chief, Tom Waydick, was named interim chief until his own retirement on June 4.
Deputy chief Josh Schmitz has been serving as interim chief since Waydick's departure.
Because the city was still paying out Williams' vacation, sick leave and other benefits via the fire department budget, the police and fire commission was unable to immediately hire a new chief. The actual search process wasn't started until mid-summer, with a July 23 application deadline. A third-party firm running the search on behalf of the city narrowed the field from 15 to 5 candidates who were interviewed earlier this month.
Tonnancour and the other finalist, James Klug, of Greeley, Colo., battalion chief of operations with the Platte Valley Fire Protection District, were invited to Rhinelander Thursday to meet members of the community and tour the city before the final, in-person interviews Friday morning.
Jamie Taylor may be reached via email at [email protected].
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