Eugene Springfield Fire Chief Joe Zaludek unexpectedly stepped down Friday to spend more time with his family after more than two years in the top job.
Zaludek informed Eugene City Manager Jon Ruiz and Springfield City Manager Gino Grimaldi of his decision Friday.
"After 34 years of work in emergency services, I am announcing my retirement as I look forward to putting my family first and spending time with them," Zaludek said in a statement the city released Saturday after his departure went public. "I want to recognize and commend the exceptional service provided by the crews of Eugene Springfield Fire. I am confident they will continue with their excellent work with the strong leadership that is in place."
The city managers said in a statement Saturday they'd appointed Chris Heppel, the department's deputy chief for strategic services, as interim fire chief. They will discuss the process of hiring a new fire chief next week.
"Chief Zaludek has been an outstanding public servant whose dedication to the profession, the men (and) women of the Eugene Springfield Fire Department and the communities of Springfield and Eugene sets the bar high for the next chief," they said.
Zaludek was appointed to the top job in February 2017, after serving eight months as interim fire chief following the retirement of his predecessor, Randy Groves. He joined the Eugene Fire Department in 1990. The fire departments for the two cities merged in 2014.
City spokeswoman Laura Hammond said Saturday she'd confirmed with the human resources division that Zaludek was not subject to an internal investigation. Eugene police spokeswoman Melinda McLaughlin said she'd confirmed the former fire chief was not under criminal investigation by the department.
Hammond said neither Ruiz nor Zaludek were available for comment Saturday.
KEZI first reported Zaludek's departure.
Battalion Chief Mike Caven, president of the local firefighters' union, said Ruiz notified him about Zaludek's decision on Friday afternoon.
"He seemed legitimately as surprised as we were," Caven said of Ruiz.
There were no indications that Ruiz was unhappy with Zaludek's job performance, Caven said.
"Best I could tell, he was happy with some of the stuff Joe was doing," he said.
On Thursday, Zaludek was in attendance when the Oregon Fire Chiefs Association honored five local firefighters with distinguished service awards during the association's spring conference at the Eagle Crest Resort near Redmond, Caven said. A gunman, who later killed himself, opened fire on the firefighters in October after starting a house fire that drew them to the scene.
"The chief was there for our guys 100 percent," Caven said.
Zaludek led the department as it launched its basic life support ambulance service to respond to lower-level medical emergencies with the aim of improving response times as its call volume continues to grow.
He also sought to recruit more women and people of color to the department and to leverage the use of technology to save lives and prevent injuries and property damage. Under his leadership, the department launched smartphone apps to connect people suffering a cardiac event with people who know CPR and to allow neighbors to report the use of illegal fireworks.
As chief, Zaludek managed a department with a $30 million annual budget and 206 full-time-equivalent employees.
Follow Christian Hill on Twitter @RGchill. Email [email protected].
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