Carson City fire chief wants to go high tech

Battalion Chief Robert S. Schreihans said he wants to improve technology in the Carson City Fire Department.

Schreihans, who has been named to start soon as Carson City’s next fire chief, is going to receive a salary ranging from $96,197 to $153,915 a year.

City Manager Nick Marano said Wednesday the range called for by a Pontifex compensation study would be used as city government negotiates with Schreihans, the man whom Marano named late Tuesday as incoming fire chief. The Pontifex study for the city was adopted by the Board of Supervisor as a guideline last year.

Schreihans said the technology upgrades include Internet enabled vehicles, electronic patient care reports and having wireless ekg machines. He also said the department is so busy the department needs to find a way to increase manpower.

“We are not going to do it overnight,” he said, about the changes he hopes to bring to the department.

Marano said Schreihans has business training and background that will help the city’s fire department to build during lean times and, as well, to benefit taxpayers.

“I think Chief Schreihans is a very personable and well respected officer in the department,” said the city manager. “The city knows him well, the rank and file firefighters have a great deal of confidence in him, and I think he’ll be a great fit for the city.”

Schreihans has three decades fire and paramedic service experience, nearly a year of it as chief for emergency services and training, and he has been president of Local 2251 of the International Association of Firefighters. He lives in the Dayton area and serves as an elected official on the Central Lyon County Fire Protection District as well.

“I am excited for the opportunity,” he said from the Los Angeles area late Wednesday. “I look forward to working with the other city departments and getting to work. It should be fun.”

Marano said two candidates were screened by a three-person panel that included him and a pair of top fire personnel from adjoining fire districts. The candidates were Schreihans and Assistant Fire chief Tom Tarulli. The city manager said it was important to have internal candidates who know the department and community.

Schreihans replaces retiring Chief Stacey Giomi, who last year announced his intention to leave the top department slot early next month. Schreihans was named fire chief effective the end of January.

“I’m thankful that we had good internal candidates,” Giomi said Wednesday. “I think Bob will do a great job.” Giomi said Schreihans knows fire service and the department. He said his replacement began in the Los Angeles area years ago as a paramedic, and worked his way up through the ranks in Carson City to captain before becoming a battalion chief last year.

Giomi also said Schreihans has experience in other aspects of the Silver State’s fire service network, citing the imminent chief’s past service as an executive board member with the Professional Firefighters of Nevada.

The incoming fire chief earned a bachelor’s in business administration at the University of Nevada, Reno, and graduated from Harvard Business School’s labor management program. When he was named the battalion chief to oversee emergency services and training, Giomi cited Schreihans’ business savvy and predicted success in that role.

“Perhaps his greatest gift is his ability to really understand the business side of the (emergency medical services) industry,” Giomi was quoted as saying then.

In 2014, Schreihans’ compensation actually topped Giomi’s, according to city records. Wages for the chief were $124,693 and for Schreihans, both as a captain and then battalion chief, were $133,823. Benefits weren’t identical for the pair, in part due to differing situations and choices. The Human Resources Department reports benefits can vary some, but run around 30 percent atop a salary.