Milwaukee fire chief announces retirement
Milwaukee’s fire chief will retire at the end of October, capping more than a decade with the city and opening another key vacancy in Milwaukee’s public safety services.
“It has been my honor and privilege to serve the citizens of Milwaukee and to lead the Milwaukee Fire Department,” Chief Mark Rohlfing said Friday in a news release.
“I have been fortunate to work with a dedicated staff, including an exceptional command staff,” he said. “The firefighters of the Milwaukee Fire Department are second to none; they are truly caring and selfless professionals.”
Mayor Tom Barrett praised the chief, saying he modernized the Fire Department even as the city faced steep fiscal challenges and retained the department’s professionalism.
Rohlfing’s retirement is the latest in a string of high-profile departures. The city will be searching for his replacement as well as a new police chief, after the ouster of Chief Alfonso Morales last month.
At the same time, the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission, the civilian oversight board in charge of hiring both chiefs, is seeking a new executive director after Griselda Aldrete said she would not seek reappointment. Aldrete has said she will stay on the job until her successor is named.
The Fire and Police Commission is scheduled to select a new police chief by early December and is expected to announce a process to choose the next fire chief, while Barrett said his office is vetting applications for the commission’s executive director position.
From the ‘state of Milwaukee’ to shared services and collaboration
Rohlfing ushered in an era of shared services with the Milwaukee Fire Department working more closely with suburban agencies.
Some of that was out of necessity given shrinking resources. The chief had to contend with an ever-tightening budget, which resulted in six fire stations closing in 2018. Barrett’s proposed budget for 2021 includes the loss of one engine, which could result in another station closure.
But collaboration also was one of Rohlfing’s core philosophies, said Gerard Washington, who recently retired as an assistant fire chief in Milwaukee and now serves as the Menomonee Falls fire chief.
“The greatest thing I took away from him is letting the walls down,” Washington said. “Don’t separate yourself from your peers or other departments. Be inviting, be inclusive and help each other out.”
“Milwaukee was known as the ‘state of Milwaukee’ because we were in our own world,” he added. “It took Mark Rohlfing, an outsider, to come in and show us that there’s the fire service.”
The mayor said Rohlfing had done a “remarkable job” working with the county’s other municipalities.
“There’s been more coordination and cooperation out of the City of Milwaukee Fire Department and the suburban fire departments than we probably have seen in our lifetime,” Barrett said. “I think in many ways he has set the stage as we move forward for more regional cooperation among the fire departments.”
Like any chief, Rohlfing had to handle employee misconduct, most recently giving a firefighter a 20-day suspension for hanging a brown figurine in a fire station. Rohlfing faced tough questions last week from the Common Council, but Barrett said he did not think Rohlfing’s retirement had anything to do with the controversy.
Rohlfing’s last working day will be Oct. 30 and he will be eligible for about $3,000 in monthly pension payments, according to city records. He was paid about $150,000 last year.