Fire chief says department will interview 22 candidates, postpones written entrance exam until later this year

Fire Chief Stowen told the Stow City Civil Service Commission the department will interview 22 candidates at the end of the month and delay administering a new written firefighter entrance exam until later this year.

Chief Stowen said two vacancies currently need to be filled and that recent outreach to candidates on the existing eligibility list produced only six replies. He said the department moved additional candidates from band B into consideration after a prior rule change and that, combining those adjustments, there are 22 people to interview. “We have a total of 22 candidates that we're going to interview at the end of this month,” Chief Stowen said.

Chief Stowen explained the choice to postpone a written exam was to align testing more closely with hiring needs. He said several retirements are expected next year—“about 8 or 10 people that are leaving next year”—and that testing too early would reduce the utility of exam results when hires are actually made. He said the department expects a new written exam will likely be scheduled in the fall, with a date to be determined.

The commission asked when the current eligibility list expires; Chief Stowen said the list expires May 7, 2026, and that the department may combine remaining candidates from the current list with those who qualify from any future test. Chief Stowen noted prior experience in which the last open test drew about 71 sign-ups and yielded roughly 29 interviews from band A; two hires came directly from that list.

No formal action was required or taken by the commission on this item; Chief Stowen described the department’s staffing plan and asked the commission to note the plan for its records.