Goldstein Tapped as Interim Fire MoCo Fire Chief
By Kevin O’Rourke
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett selected Division Chief Scott Goldstein to serve as Interim Fire Chief of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, effective Jan. 1. Most recently Chief Goldstein was assigned as the operations division chief responsible for all field delivery of fire, medical and emergency response services the county.
Goldstein replaces Chief Steve Lohr who retired Dec. 31.
As head of the Operations Division, Goldstein oversaw the largest Division within MCFRS and provides nearly 300 daily staffing positions spread over Montgomery County's 37 fire and rescue stations. Daily staffing includes over 50 pieces of large fire and rescue apparatus, 40 EMS transport units, and several dozen specialized and support units. The Department responds to more than 110,000 emergency calls for service annually with a departmental budget of about $218 million dollars.
Prior to his assignment as the Division Chief for Operations, Goldstein served as the special operations section chief, from April 2009 to May 2013. The special operations section includes; hazardous materials, technical rescue, water rescue, and bomb squad response, interoperability radio cache, Emergency Operations Center liaison and staffing, as well as fire and rescue involvement in all mass gatherings/special events. In Goldstein’s over 23 years with MCFRS he has also been assigned as the Operations Chief Executive Officer, Field Operations Battalion Chief, Deputy Safety Officer, shift supervisor and fire fighter.
He is actively involved in the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Fire/Police Chiefs subcommittees and was the co-chair of the Law Enforcement and EMS working group that developed a model policy on intergraded operations of law enforcement and fire and rescue personnel during law enforcement incidents.
Since 1990, Goldstein has been a member of the Maryland Urban Search and Rescue Task Force. He has been an Assistant Task Force Leader, Logistics Manager, and Logistics Specialist. He was instrumental in equipment research and purchasing and the development of its task force cache. He responded as a member of the FEMA Incident Support Team to the Oklahoma City bombing and Hurricane Opal and deployed as a member of MD TF1 to the Northridge Earthquake, Hurricanes Charley, Fran, Floyd, Marilyn, and George and to the Pentagon terrorist incident on September 11, 2001.
He holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Maryland University College and is presently enrolled in the Naval Post Graduate School working towards a Master Degree in Homeland Security with a planned graduation in December 2015.
He, his wife and children reside in Montgomery County.
Now retired Chief Lohr, was a participant in the MCFRS’s Deferred Retirement Option Plan, which allowed him to retire. His retirement was announced via internal memo early in December.
Chief Lohr spent the days leading up to his retirement saying goodbye to friends and coworkers as part of his “farewell retirement tour.”
