PHAEDRA HAYWOOD
The Santa Fe New Mexican

Santa Fe County Fire Chief Stan Holden plans to step down Thursday.

Holden said he'll be moving to East Texas soon to take a job helping a nine-county area unify several emergency-medical service organizations. "Sort of similar to what I walked into here 14 years ago," Holden said. He declined to name the entity that hired him, saying he wanted to give his new employers a chance to make that announcement.

Deputy Fire Chief Dave Sperling -- also the county's fire marshal -- will assume Holden's duties until officials decide who will fill the position permanently.

When Holden was hired as county fire chief in 1997, the county had 15 fire districts operating semi-independently from county government and only four paid fire department employees. During Holden's administration, the districts were united under the control of the Santa Fe County Commission, and the number of paid firefighters increased to 88. Holden also facilitated the consolidation of fire, ambulance and police dispatchers into the existing Regional Emergency Communications Center.

County Commissioner Virginia Vigil on Tuesday commended Holden for his work. "He was an excellent first responder, administrator and advocate not only for Santa Fe County but for the region and for fire departments throughout the state," she said.

Holden said he got involved in firefighting as a teenager living in the Northern New Mexico community of Kirtland, where all the adult men commuted to work in area power plants, leaving only high-school students to staff the volunteer fire department during the day.

He said his favorite part of being county fire chief was "knowing that there were so many volunteers that were extremely dedicated and always trying to do their best."

Holden said he would have liked to have retired from Santa Fe County and then returned to work for the county. But recent changes in state law regarding pensioned government employees returning to work in government made that financially impossible.

Holden's advice to his successor? "Stay the course. We have a good plan. We just need to move forward."

Sperling was hired as a firefighter by the city of Santa Fe in 1987. He worked his way up through the ranks and served as chief at the city for four years before retiring in 2006. He went to work at the county in 2007 before the rules regarding retired government employees returning to government work changed, so he has been able to continue collecting the pension he earned from the city of Santa Fe while working at the county.

Holden said he was earning about $94,000 per year when he resigned. Sperling said he earns about $75,000 to $79,000, and he doesn't know yet if his salary will change with his new duties.

Sperling said he is "definitely" interested in becoming the new Santa Fe County fire chief.

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March 30, 2011