T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY Marshalltown fire chief finalists Gabe Rose, left, and Curtis Raue, right, answered questions from the public during an event at the Police/Fire building on Thursday evening. Rose is currently the chief of the Keokuk Fire Department, while Raue is a captain with the MFD who also serves as a volunteer firefighter in his home community of Toledo.

Thursday night’s meet and greet with Marshalltown fire chief finalists Curtis Raue and Gabe Rose at the Police/Fire building offered a chance for the public to ask questions of both contenders — and to learn that a third finalist, Cedar Rapids Fire Department Battalion Chief Brian Giachino, has officially withdrawn his name from consideration for the position.

After a brief introduction from soon-to-be retired MFD Chief David Rierson, a small but engaged group of constituents, which included city councilors Mike Ladehoff, Mark Mitchell and Greg Nichols, took time to hear from Raue, a Toledo native and South Tama County graduate who serves as a captain within the MFD, and Rose, who has held the title of chief in his hometown of Keokuk since 2011.

As fire departments have evolved far beyond their original duties to respond to a wide variety of calls for service, both candidates spoke about how they felt they would lead the MFD into an increasingly complex future.

“Fire service is here to do what everybody else can’t find an answer for, basically. When somebody’s got a problem that they don’t know what their next step is, they call us, and because of that, we’ve got so many different things that we’ve got to be prepared to address,” Raue said. “Obviously, fire, for our namesake, that’s we’d better be the best at, but we go on so many medical calls, car accidents, hazardous materials when the truck driver forgets to pop the handle on his diesel tank and runs it down into the storm drain, we’ve gotta know how to deal with that.”

Rose added that tasks like technical and river rescues are also a big part of the job, and firemen and women increasingly wear a wide variety of hats while also being expected to stay involved in their communities. Rose was quick to compliment Rierson for his efforts to keep the department’s equipment and facilities up to date, as the replacement plan is currently good up to 2028.

Staffing, however, is an ongoing concern both in Marshalltown and across the nation. When Raue first tested for the MFD 15 years ago, he was one of approximately 80 hopefuls, and during the last round of hires, there were just 20 applicants and 10 who passed.

“What the answer for that is, if anybody’s got it, I’m more than happy to hear it,” Raue said.

Outreach efforts to attract young people into the fire service are underway, and resident Dave Grieve joked that it might take a firefighting video game to do the job. Alex Needham, a firefighter with the MFD, said the department is fully staffed “on paper” but added that they often show up to a fire with just six firemen while the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) calls for 12. Currently, the department employs 24 firefighters along with Chief Rierson, Deputy Chief Christopher Cross and Fire Marshal Josh Warnell.

Both candidates stressed the importance of a strong relationship with the public, and Raue said it was time to move beyond the mindset of “give us money or people are gonna die.”

“That doesn’t work anymore. That’s not enough. We’ve gotta get detailed messages out,” he said. “We did the Citizens Academy for several years, and that helped educate a couple groups of people, and then we’ve had problems getting people signed up for it. So it kind of fell off, and it’s a challenge because that gives the perception of ‘People don’t even want to learn what you’re trying to do.’ I doubt that that’s the case, it’s just (that) we need to find out where those conversations need to be had and start having them with the right people.”

Rose then shared that the last time he tried to hire firefighters in Keokuk, only three people applied. While police departments have faced recruitment struggles at least partially due to national events and a backlash against the profession as a whole, Rose said the issue on the fire side was more related to a more widespread labor shortage across all sectors. Raue felt that one more person per shift, three total, would make a “huge” difference, and six would be an ideal number.

Raue also warned that while firefighters aren’t currently being filmed every time they get off the truck, he worried the day may yet come.

“We are going to be in the same boat as the cops eventually, and the fire service is preparing for it,” Raue said. “You go to conferences with speakers from all over the country and they say ‘We’ve still got it good right now. Don’t take it for granted.’ And there’s a big push to bring a learning culture throughout the fire service for everybody to be improved, to be on their game the best that they can… Our day is coming. It just is. It’s kind of scary, but if we work our butts off and be the best that we can, maybe we can head it off before it gets to be as bad as what the cops are (dealing with).”

About 20 minutes into the meeting, resident Doris Kinnick asked Raue and Rose a simple question: Why do you want to be the fire chief?

Rose, who was born in Keokuk before moving to Texas and eventually returning, said things “aren’t going so well” as the community in the far southeast corner of Iowa has lost its hospital, and with his youngest child about to graduate, he and his wife were ready to explore a new opportunity if it happened to present itself.

“I’m eligible to retire in three years, but I don’t see that happening. I’m a guy that needs to get up in the morning and go to work,” he said.

For Raue, who also serves as a volunteer firefighter in Toledo and a substitute teacher at STC, he felt serving as chief would give him a chance to continue serving the department where he has spent his entire professional career and carry on Rierson’s legacy. He also shared his long-term vision for the MFD.

“We’ve had a culture for a long time that worked good enough, and we can compete with anybody. And we certainly are a good department, but I think we can be rockstars if we want to be,” he said. “I just want to inspire people to look for learning opportunities outside their comfort zone and grow to their full potential and just provide the best service we possibly can.”

Rose described himself as a democratic leader who would seek input from across his department and create an environment where everyone feels involved, and Raue expressed a similar sentiment about empowering the people he works with and moving beyond the top-down hierarchy structure to allowing small groups to get things done.

During the second half of the meeting, which ran just under an hour in total, a common theme was how the candidates would work with the local ambulance service operated by UnityPoint Health, a private nonprofit, and the fact that UPH no longer compensates the city for the MFD’s services.

While there may be frustration with the situation, Raue reminded those in attendance of the ultimate goal in the fire service: helping people who need it the most. He added that there have been conversations about trying to screen calls for situations when the fire department isn’t needed, but it could be “a dangerous realm” because the nature of the calls can often change dramatically in a short period of time.

Public Works Director Heather Thomas also noted the current vacuum of leadership in the city’s departments with Rierson retiring, Police Chief Mike Tupper announcing that he plans to retire next year and the departures of former City Administrator Jessica Kinser and Housing and Community Development Director Michelle Spohnheimer, all of whom were deeply involved in disaster response after the 2018 tornado and 2020 derecho.

Rose recounted his own experiences with a derecho in Keokuk, and Raue recalled leaving his home in Toledo on a day off when the tornado hit to aid in the cleanup effort and being at the station the day of the derecho, referencing the old adage of eating an elephant one bite at a time.

In returning to the staffing issue, Raue noted the daunting challenge of competing with communities in the Des Moines metropolitan area that are constantly hiring, pay more and have a wide variety of amenities within a short driving distance.

“Realistically, they have more to offer than we do, and it’s hard to compete with them,” he said.

In recounting their own professional journeys, Rose said he simply took the test when he returned to Iowa, and although he was passed over for promotions he felt he deserved earlier in his career, his chief eventually asked him to step into the role upon his retirement. Raue finds himself motivated by the opportunity to take on the next learning challenge, inspire others and make a difference in the community where he serves.

Before the meet and greet wrapped up, Kinnick praised both men and offered an optimistic assessment on the future of the MFD.

“I think both of you are very well qualified for this job. It’s not gonna be an easy decision,” she said. “Flip a coin.”

The two finalists were set to interview with city councilors and other department heads on Friday before the council makes the final decision at a future meeting.