Kevin Edmond has been appointed new fire chief for the city of Sterling Heights. Sterling Heights City Council confirmed appointment on Jan. 19 following a thorough national recruitment search performed by GovHR and in-depth candidate evaluation process.
Edmond replaces former Fire Chief Christopher Martin who retired last September following a 31-year career with the Sterling Heights Fire Department.
Edmond has been in fire service for 30 years, most recently as the fire chief in Collinsville, Illinois. He began his professional firefighting career in 1990 with the city of Mentor, Ohio and progressed steadily through the ranks, serving as a firefighter/paramedic, Lieutenant Battalion Chief and Deputy Fire Chief.
He has extensive knowledge in Emergency Medical Services and has served as the director of Lakeland Community College’s paramedic program where he was instrumental in securing its initial accreditation. He holds an Associate of Science in fire protection and a Bachelor of Science in technical education from the University of Akron and a Masters of Public Administration, with applied research in emergency management, from Purdue Global University.
Edmond has served on committees for the Ohio Department of Public Safety EMS, Ohio Department of Higher Education, Ohio Fire Chiefs Education and Madison County Incident Command. He has earned the Executive Fire Officer credential from the National Fire Academy and has an extensive list of certifications in all areas of fire service.
“We found Chief Edmond to be a visionary leader who embraces our City’s philosophy of continuous improvement,” said Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor. “Throughout his career, he has demonstrated a commitment to his professional development through certifications and industry service, and he has already started talking about ways we can grow our already impressive Insurance Services Organization (ISO) rating from a two to a one here in Sterling Heights. That’s the kind of forward thinking and spirit we expect from our City leadership, and Chief Edmond wholeheartedly embodies that spirit.”
One of Edmond’s first initiatives will be collaborating with department leaders and other community stakeholders to create a five-year strategic plan to chart the course for the fire department’s future.
“I look forward to having Chief Edmond join the City’s leadership team while advancing new and exciting initiatives within our fire service,” said Sterling Heights City Manager Mark Vanderpool. “It will be hard to raise the bar in what is considered a premier department, but Chief Edmond has the experience and skill set to do so.”