Rising the Ranks, Fire Marshall Is Now Duluth Deputy Chief
For 20 years, Jon Otis has risen the ranks of the fire department and now is officially the deputy chief.
DULUTH, Minn. – For 20 years, Jon Otis has risen the ranks of the fire department and now is officially the deputy chief.
Like many kids, Jon played with firetrucks but he didn’t exactly have the desire to be part of the fire department until a college assignment, where he had to write a paper about something he wanted to learn more about.
At the time, he had a roommate who was a wild land firefighter and another roommate who was going to Lake Superior College to be a structural firefighter, leading him to write about and end up pursuing a career in Duluth’s Fire Department.
“The most rewarding thing for me personally is the connections,” said Jon Otis, the deputy chief at the Duluth Fire Department. “First of all, you become a family here with the people on the job. And I didn’t want to leave Duluth because I have a passion for Duluth and our community.”
Otis says his career has been one of his own making, where he thrives on collaboration and works with some great teams. But while he wasn’t a Captain or a Driver, he went from firefighter to Fire Marshall, and now, he is the Deputy Chief.
“For me, it’s about relationships,” said Jon. “I can go into businesses and talk to business owners about issues so that they may have. We can talk to landlords and tenants about issues that they may be having. I work with our firefighters on a daily basis and ultimately the work is to keep them safe.”
The position itself was previously filled by Marnie Grondahl, the first female chief-level officer in the department’s history. She retired back in May.
Through the position, Jon will be focusing on developing relationships with the business community and the life safety staff. He will also be involved in initial fire investigations and saving potential evidence on structure fires.
Fire Chief Shawn Krizaj says he’s happy to finally fill the role.
“It is exciting,” said Krizaj. “It is exciting to have some fresh eyes in our command staff also. You know, sometimes you start getting into a status quo routine and it’s always nice to have someone new come in, kind of have a little bit broader look at things.”
Jon found out about the position just before Christmas and started on Monday.
