Santa Fe County announced Friday that fire Chief Erik Litzenberg will be retiring in December after a little over a year in the position.
"Chief Litzenberg is a true professional, who came to Santa Fe County with great enthusiasm and accomplished many goals for the department," county Public Safety Director Pablo Sedillo III said in a news release. "His retirement is well-deserved; however he will be missed as he made an impact with all the Fire Department employees and volunteers."
Litzenberg, 48, took the top job at the Santa Fe County Fire Department in August 2019 following a more than two-decade career with the city of Santa Fe, where he served as fire chief from 2013-18 and was then promoted to city manager under Mayor Alan Webber.
He announced he was stepping down from the city manager job in July 2019 to spend more time with his family.
At the time, Litzenberg revealed he was in loose discussions with the county about serving as fire chief after both former Chief David Sterling and former Assistant Chief Steve Moya announced their retirements earlier that summer.
Litzenberg was tapped as Santa Fe's interim city manager after his predecessor, Brian Synder was fired for authorizing pay raises for a handful of city employees on the night of Webber's inauguration.
A Santa Fe native, Litzenberg began his 21-year career in firefighting in Santa Fe in 1994, eventually rising to the rank of chief after taking on various roles within the city department.
"I am so grateful for the time Chief Litzenberg gave to our county," County Commissioner Anna Hamilton said in a news release. "He provided leadership that flowed from an unbounded enthusiasm for people and the fire service, as well as from a high level of skill and experience. I am sorry to be losing his unique abilities and motivation to improve conditions and services in the fire department."
According to the news release, Santa Fe County will "immediately" begin recruiting a new chief.
___
(c)2020 The Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, N.M.)
Visit The Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, N.M.) at www.santafenewmexican.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
