photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical Chief Rich Llewellyn is pictured on Sept. 1, 2022, at the LDCFM Administration building at 1911 Stewart Ave.

The City of Lawrence announced Monday that Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical Chief Rich Llewellyn will be stepping down from his role later this year.

Llewellyn, who joined LDCFM in August 2022, had been in fire service for 26 years, and came to Lawrence from the Everett Fire Department in western Washington, where he was serving as its assistant chief of administration.

During his time in Lawrence, Llewellyn coordinated the signing of LDCFM’s first new mutual aid agreements with regional fire service agencies since 1998, enhancing cooperation across jurisdictions for emergency responses.

Cori Wallace, a spokesperson for the City of Lawrence, wrote in a news release that Llewellyn’s time as chief was “marked by an unwavering dedication to a mission-driven, values-guided approach to fire and medical services.” City Manager Craig Owens said LDCFM was fortunate to have Llwellyn’s “leadership and guidance” and wished him the best in his next endeavors.

“Chief Llewellyn’s dedication to enhancing Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical has left a lasting legacy of community-focused service,” Owens said.

The city said Llewellyn’s final day as chief will be Friday, Dec. 6.

Llewellyn told the Journal-World that in the past year he and his wife had decided to relocate closer to their family to help provide care for their parents, who had experienced health issues.

The Journal-World has reached out to the city regarding the next steps for hiring a new chief. Wallace said the city does not yet have a timeline for deciding on a replacement.

Llewellyn replaced interim chief Tom Fagan, who had taken over after Chief Shaun Coffey retired at the end of 2021. Coffey became fire chief after the death of Mark Bradford in 2018. Bradford had served in the role for 13 years.