Lebanon down to three finalists for fire chief

The city of Lebanon is getting closer in selecting its new fire chief who will replace former chief Steve Johnson who stepped down a few months ago to become a battalion chief with the Miami Valley Fire District in Montgomery County.

The three finalists, Ryan Dipzinski, Charles Rielage and David Dion Rosenberger, participated in an assessment center evaluation conducted last Thursday by the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association, according to City Manager Scott Brunka. He said a written report is being prepared by OFCA on how each of the three finalists performed in that evaluation process.

“There will likely be final interviews conducted once the OFCA report has been reviewed,” Brunka said. “The hiring of the fire chief, as with all city personnel decisions, except for the city manager, city attorney and city auditor, will be finalized through an Administrative Order and does not require legislation from City Council.”

The starting salary range starts at $110,000, depending on qualifications, Brunka said.

A total of 21 applicants applied for the fire chief’s position, according to city records.

Here is a short biography of the three final candidates:

Dipzinski, the Interim Lebanon Fire Chief, has served more than 20 years in the fire service. Dipzinski worked a couple of years as a part-time Lebanon firefighter/paramedic and as a full-time firefighter/paramedic with the Miami Twp. Division of Fire and EMS. He was promoted to fire lieutenant with what became a fire lieutenant/company officer with the newly created Miami Valley Fire District. In April 2017, he became a battalion chief with Lebanon.

Rielage is the assistant fire chief in Tipp City.

Rosenberger is a fire captain with the Tri-Township Fire Department in Delaware County where he began his career in the fire service as a probationary firefighter in 2001.

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