Terrace Park appoints George Heffner as fire chief and restructures volunteer ranks

George Heffner was sworn in as fire chief of the Village of Terrace Park on Jan. 14 after the council adopted a resolution consenting to the mayor’s appointment and moved an ordinance to alter the department’s composition into third reading.

Mayor (unnamed) opened the meeting by thanking interim leadership after the recent, unexpected death of Chief Schonfeld and acknowledged Assistant Chief John Maggard for stepping in. The mayor said the selection process included soliciting input from staff and the community and that “one candidate … was the overwhelming recommendation by all of his peers for the job of chief,” naming George Heffner as that candidate.

Council advanced an ordinance to amend Terrace Park’s codified ordinances about fire-department composition and then adopted the consent resolution for Heffner as an emergency. After the vote, Heffner repeated the oath: “I, George Heffner, to the best of my ability will discharge the duties of fire chief for the Village of Terrace Park, Ohio.” Councilors and attendees congratulated the new chief.

The council also adopted a separate emergency resolution consenting to the mayor’s appointments of officers in the volunteer fire department. Individuals sworn in at the meeting included assistant chiefs John Maggard and Ty Zimmerman; captains Chris Dixon, Chris Pageant and Mickey List; lieutenants Mike Kaplan and Craig Russell; and engineer Kyle Lehman. Each officer repeated an oath to discharge the duties of the named rank and was congratulated by the mayor and council.

Council members characterized the steps as housekeeping tied to the new chief’s installation and said further, minor personnel adjustments might follow once the chief assumes the role. The mayor said the ordinance creating additional codified positions was intended to create the statutory space to formalize the appointments.