Idaho Falls Fire chief announces retirement - East Idaho News
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Idaho Falls Fire chief announces retirement

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The following is a news release from the city of Idaho Falls.

IDAHO FALLS — Idaho Falls Fire Chief Dave Hanneman recently announced that he will retire from the Idaho Falls Fire Department after 36 years in emergency services.

The city will hold a retirement ceremony in his honor during a public reception on April 23 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Waterfront in Snake River Landing, 1220 Event Center Drive.

Under his leadership, Chief Hanneman successfully upgraded the City of Idaho Falls’ ISO rating to a Class 2. IFFD is one of only two departments in the state of Idaho to have achieved this. The Class 2 rating has a direct impact on lowering insurance premiums for property owners in Idaho Falls.

In addition to responding to more than 13,000 fire and EMS calls in Bonneville County in 2018, IFFD deployed 81 firefighters to 41 different wildfires in eight different states, serving 714 days on the frontlines during wildfires across the western United States. Chief Hanneman also helped establish Idaho’s Region 3 All-Hazards Incident Management and Support Team. This team was deployed to assist with Hurricane Michael stabilization and recovery efforts in Bay County, Florida in October 2018 where Chief Hanneman served as one of the Deputy Incident Commanders in the Emergency Operations Center.

Idaho Falls Mayor Rebecca Casper states, “The City of Idaho Falls has been very fortunate to have Chief Hanneman at the helm of the department. His love of the fire service, professional vision and desire to achieve has not only benefitted the department, but it has allowed it to lead on many fronts. The Chief’s efforts enable our fire and medic professionals to obtain and provide excellent experience across the United States. We have received national level recognition for it. Our city now excels at firefighter training, certification, and education. We have incident command and response experience deep into our ranks, we have excellent emergency preparation, and our teams have more wildland fire experience than most large urban fire departments will ever see. The Chief’s brand of leadership leaves our department stronger than it was when he found it. We could not have asked for more.”

Chief Hanneman joined IFFD in October 2014 having previously served as Chief for the City of Chula Vista in southern California. He has over 36 years of experience in firefighting and emergency medical services. He started his career in 1984 with the Cole-Collister Fire District in Boise. He then transferred to the Boise Fire Department in 1988 where he worked for 21 years and achieved the rank of Deputy Chief. In 2008, Hanneman was designated Chief Fire Officer from the Center for Public Safety Excellence. He served as Committee Chair of NFPA 1026 and has been involved in writing, producing and editing several national level fire service publications. The Chief also teaches various Incident Command System courses across the state and nation.

“It has been an honor and privilege to serve as the Idaho Falls Fire Chief,” states Hanneman. “The men and women of this organization are extraordinary. Leading them these past five years has been the most rewarding part of my career.”

The Chief’s last day will be May 3rd. His successor has not yet been named; that announcement will be made at a later date.

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