Today, Corri Spiegel, Davenport City Administrator is pleased to announce that she has selected Michael Carlsten as Davenport’s Fire Chief.   

“I am excited and honored at this opportunity  to lead an outstanding department” said Chief Carlsten.  “I look forward to the future of the City of Davenport and the Davenport Fire Department. “   

Michael Carlsten is a 24-year veteran of the Davenport Fire Department with over 11 years as a Chief Officer. In addition to his daily responsibilities of managing and supervising personnel and equipment on his designated shift as district chief, Carlsten has been the administrator for the department’s ISO evaluations. During this time, the department’s overall score has increased at every visit and the current rating has been raised from a score of 3 to a higher score of 2. Carlsten has significant specialized training in Hazardous Materials and Technical Rescue and serves as the technical rescue coordinator for the Davenport Fire Department. He is a member of the State of Iowa’s Weapons of Mas s Destruction (WMD) team and serves as assistant coordinator to the department’s HAZMAT program. With that focus, he has been involved in the process of securing several grants for funding, written policies and assisted with implementing the cross-training of first responders from throughout the region.

“Chief Carlsten has a proven track record in the management of fire service incidents and first responder initiatives, extensive experience in negotiations, planning and project management and demonstrated skill in the development and execution of large and small scale response plans, which makes him well suited to run the complex operations of the Davenport Fire Department,” said City Administrator Spiegel as she made the announcement. “He is a great coach and a strong leader of people. His depth of knowledge and hands-on experience makes him highly qualified for this key leadership position.”

Chief Carlsten has a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from St. Ambrose University, Davenport, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Management from Ashford University, Clinton, Iowa. He recently received a certificate from the Certified Public Manager program at Drake University, and has an Associate’s degree in Fire Science Technology from Illinois Central College, East Peoria, Illinois. His list of credentials recently increased as he received Chief Fire Officer (CFO) designation from the Center of Public Safety Excellence. Additionally, Chief Carlsten has focused his training on command level courses from the National Fire Academy, Department of Homeland Security and FEMA.  

Carlsten participates in various community events and public relations activities and is the current advisor and a leader for Davenport Fire Explorer Post.   In 2003, he was honored as the recipient of the American Legion Firefighter of the Year Award. He is an original member of the Davenport Fire Department Honor Guard and is known throughout the community as “Fire Santa” for holiday department related events.    

Chief Carlsten will begin his duties as Fire Chief starting May 10, 2018, at an annual salary of $119,000.   

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