ALAMOSA – The City of Alamosa recently announced that Frank Wirth has accepted the offer to serve as Alamosa’s next Fire Chief.  Chief Wirth has an extensive career in fire service with over 42 years of experience in volunteer, combination, and career departments. 

Chief Wirth most recently served as Fire Captain for the Lower Allen Township Department of Public Safety, Deputy Team Leader for South Central PA Task Force - Type IV Incident Management Team, and Volunteer Firefighter for Lisburn Community Fire Company.  

Chief Wirth is also an instructor with the Harrisburg Area Community College for several fire service/science subjects. While Chief Wirth’s professional career has been focused in Pennsylvania, his personal interests bring him to the San Luis Valley after many years of vacationing in the area. 

“I was very impressed with not only Chief Wirth’s experience in the fire service, but also his role as an educator.  As we look to grow training for volunteers, Chief Wirth’s knowledge will be invaluable.  The search committee also felt that his communication style would be a strong addition to the team,” said Alamosa City Manager Heather Sanchez. “Alamosa City and County will benefit from the decision to hire Frank Wirth as their new Fire Chief. Frank has many years of firefighting experience and has utilized his time well by compiling a very impressive resume to go along with his great leadership skills.” 

Chief Wirth said, “It is an honor to have been selected as the next Fire Chief for Alamosa and I look forward to serving the citizens of the City and County of Alamosa. I am eager to start working with the firefighters and officers of Alamosa, neighboring fire departments, and the Alamosa County Fire Protection District.”   

Chief Wirth’s first day with the City of Alamosa will be March 31. 

“We are very fortunate to have Chief Wirth begin his service while Chief (Bill) Stone is still here.  This overlap will provide enough time for Chief Stone to review key department functions and set up Chief Wirth for success,” said Sanchez. 

Wirth takes over for Chief Bill Stone, who has served as Fire Chief since 2022 and during that time helped to facilitate many key initiatives including the Fire Explorer Program, Community Burnout Fund, improvements to water rescue, extensive training opportunities, and discussions with TSC and ASU on fire degree/certification options.  

“Chief Stone has definitely moved the department forward and we look forward to this momentum continuing,” said Sanchez.

“I also want to thank everyone who volunteered on the Interview Committee and the volunteers who attended the candidate meetings and provided feedback.  The process took a lot of work and everyone’s perspective was very valuable.  We are excited to welcome Frank and his family to Alamosa,” said Sanchez.