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David PenningtonPhoto provided by CITY OF SPRINGFIELD
David Pennington

Photo provided by CITY OF SPRINGFIELD

Springfield promotes from within for fire chief

Posted online

Last edited 3:48 p.m., May 22, 2017

David Pennington is the next chief of the Springfield Fire Department.

Following a nationwide search, Pennington was recommended by a committee comprising city staff, local emergency service agency officials and Liberty Fire Chief Mike Snider. City Manager Greg Burris hired Pennington to start May 28, according to a news release. City spokeswoman Melissa Haase said there were 37 applicants for the position.

The department’s assistant fire chief of operations, Pennington took over the top role in an interim capacity on Jan. 27 when former leader David Hall accepted a newly created position at Missouri State University. Hall had been chief since 2009 and worked for the Springfield Fire Department for 27 years before becoming MSU’s first emergency preparedness manager.

Pennington started with the Springfield Fire Department in 1998 and rose through the ranks, from rescue specialist to battalion chief and finally assistant fire chief in 2010. A faculty member of MSU’s communication department since 2005, Pennington has a bachelor’s in organizational communication and a master’s in administrative studies from MSU, as well as a graduate certificate in public management from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

“While we received a high-quality applicant pool, when comparing the breadth and depth of experience of the top candidates, it became evident that the city’s internal candidate, Assistant Chief David Pennington, stood out with regard to the needs of the Springfield Fire Department,” Burris said in the release. “His educational and professional accomplishments, departmental knowledge, experience and expertise, as well as enthusiasm for leading our Fire Department in the coming years, propelled him to the top of a capable and well-qualified group.”

Pennington, who will earn a $125,000 yearly salary, is tasked with leading a department that provides emergency services via 12 fire stations and 220 employees in an 82-square-mile radius.

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