No decision yet on a permanent fire chief

The City of Maricopa remains without a permanent fire chief as the city continues to evaluate interim chief Brad Pitassi for the permanent position more than two months after the resignation of former Chief Brady Leffler.

Pitassi, who was assistant fire chief for operations when Leffler stepped down, was named interim chief effective May 27. Leffler had served as chief of Maricopa Fire/Medical Department since 2013.

City officials did not comment on a timeline, the process for finding a permanent chief, or the qualifications the city is seeking in Leffler’s replacement.

The city’s only comment came from spokesman Quinn Konold.

“I don’t have anything to share right now,” Konold said. “City code states that the replacement be made by the city manager, and he is making that determination at his own discretion.”

At the time of Leffler’s resignation, City Manager Rick Horst said, “Brad Pitassi assumed the role of interim fire chief effective March 27. There will be a process of naming a permanent replacement over the next several months.”

When former police Chief Steve Stahl announced his retirement in November 2020, the City announced then-Commander James Hughes, a nine-year veteran, as his successor. He took over MPD in January 2021.

Pitassi, who joined MFMD in December 2006, has served as assistant chief for operations and emergency medical services for the last two years, and prior to that was the city’s assistant chief for administration.

Should he land the permanent chief’s position, Pitassi would be up for a significant pay hike. At the time of his retirement, Leffler earned the second-highest salary in the city at $167,714, behind only Horst’s $206,511 salary. Pitassi’s salary as an assistant chief was $123,432. The salary range for the fire chief position tops out at $176,233.

As the operations assistant chief, Pitassi’s responsibilities included overseeing the department’s day-to-day operations, all-risk-all-hazard emergency preparedness, personnel, long-term operational strategic planning, and its budget.

Previously, as assistant chief of administrative services, he headed the logistics, facilities, grants, Homeland Security, emergency management, community services and fire prevention divisions.

While he was a firefighter, Pitassi deployed with colleagues from around the state to battle the largest wildfire in Arizona history, the Wallow Fire. Pitassi was deployed for 14 days to the colossal blaze, which raged from May 29-July 8, 2011, near Alpine in the White Mountains. The fire consumed a total of 538,049 acres, or about 816 square miles; 522,642 of those acres were in Arizona.

Pitassi was mobilized several other times to fight wildfires in the state.