photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical Station No. 1 is pictured on July 5, 2023.

The City of Lawrence expects its search for a new fire and medical chief will take six to nine months, and it will soon be hiring a search firm and announcing an interim leader for the department.

In a news release on Thursday afternoon, the city laid out some of the next steps in the process of replacing Rich Llewellyn, who stepped down from his role as chief earlier this month.

The release said the city plans to conduct a nationwide search and has already started the process of finding a search firm.

Also, within the next 60 days, the city plans to name an interim chief who will lead the department during the search process. Until the interim chief is in place, the release said, Joe Hardy will be serving as acting chief.

The release also said that a deputy chief position which was newly created for the 2025 budget year will be filled by an acting leader, Tyler Wade, while the search for a permanent chief is underway. “Appointing someone in this Acting Deputy Chief role will meet our immediate needs while also allowing for the new Chief to hire this key position once they begin,” the release said.

As the Journal-World reported, the city announced in November that Llewellyn’s last day as chief would be Dec. 6. Llewellyn had been with LDCFM since August 2022.

The city’s release on Thursday said that more information on the hiring process would be shared as it became available.