Finalist Named For Next Rochester Fire Chief

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The City of Rochester is moving a step closer to hiring a new Fire Chief.

The Rochester Fire Civil Service Commission meeting today includes a possible vote on approving the Fire Chief Eligibility Register. The agenda indicates the commission is considering adding only one name to the list of candidates for succeeding current Rochester Fire Chief Eric Kerska, who earlier announced his intention to retire in January.

Get our free mobile app

The lone candidate is West Allis, Wisconsin Fire Chief Mason Pooler. Biographical information on Pooler indicates he has served as the Fire Chief in West Allis, near Milwaukee, since 2017. He has been a firefighter since 1998, when he joined the Germantown, Wisconsin Fire Department. Pooler later served as a firefighter in Merrill, Wisconsin before moving to West Allis in 2002.

The city began searching for Chief Kerska's successor in April. If the Fire Civil Service Commission votes today to certify Pooler to the register, a resolution recommending his appointment as interim Rochester Fire Chief is expected to be presented to the City Council next week.

Chief Kerska became a member of the Rochester Fire Department in 1994. After rising through the ranks, Kerska took over as Fire Chief in 2018.