The city of Fairfield has a new fire chief, City Manager David Gassaway announced last week.
John Sturdee has moved from interim fire chief to permanent fire chief. “John has done a stellar job in his time as interim chief and despite incredible competition in the recruitment process, demonstrated what it takes to be a great chief,” said Gassaway in a community newsletter. Sturdee became interim chief in August after former Fire Chief Matt Luckenbach retired. His career with Fairfield Fire began back in 1989 when he worked as a volunteer firefighter. By 1996 he had become a firefighter and paramedic with the department, a fire engineer in 2002, fire captain in 2005, battalion chief in 2013 and then deputy chief in 2020.
According to Gassaway, Sturdee has been named Fire Officer of the Year and has twice been named Firefighter of the Year.