ROY — Clinton Fire Chief Jason Poulsen has been hired to be the fire chief in Roy.
For Poulsen, the change will be like coming home. Before spending the last 1 1/2 years as Clinton’s fire chief, Poulsen worked in Roy for 15 years as a paramedic and for 1 1/2 years as fire captain.
Poulsen begins duties as Roy fire chief on July 1.
Poulsen said he always hoped to return to Roy.
“I left not knowing when Chief (Jon) Ritchie was going to retire, but I learned the fire chief role,” Poulsen said after the city council recently ratified his appointment as fire chief.
Poulsen was quick to say he has nothing but love and respect for Clinton and the people and community he served.
“I have a great working relationship with city officials and built awesome relationships with Clinton firefighters,” he said.
Roy’s department and city are about double the size of Clinton’s, but Poulsen is confident and comfortable with the department. He plans to watch and observe for awhile before making changes where needed. However, Poulsen said he feels things have been running efficiently under Ritchie.
“I am comfortable with the operations of the city,” Poulsen said.
Many of the firefighters attending the city council meeting applauded for Poulsen and openly welcomed him to the position. Ritchie also hugged and patted Poulsen on the back and told him he had great confidence in his abilities.
Poulsen said he was excited to be back in Roy and to work with City Manager Chris Davis.
“I really appreciate the fire department here,” Poulsen said.
Mayor Joe Ritchie also feels confident with the decision to hire Poulsen and is thrilled he wanted to come back to Roy.
“It was a great loss for us when he decided to leave. He has great experience and we are glad to have him back,” Joe Ritchie said.
Eighteen candidates applied for the position, some from within the department.
“We are looking for good things and I think he will hit the ground running,” said Joe Ritchie, adding he doesn’t anticipate much change.
The mayor said the candidates were a talented group, which made the decision difficult.
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