A new firefighter stepped into the role of chief in Waterloo toward the end of last year after two decades of service in the department.

Lifelong Waterloo resident Mike Lloyd was appointed interim chief last November following the retirement of previous chief Aaron Shive – Lloyd recalled that Shive stepped away in order to focus on his business and family – and Lloyd officially took on the role of chief shortly after in December.

Along with his step up from first assistant chief, Lloyd noted that Andrew Glessner is now serving as first assistant chief and Kevin Jones is second assistant chief.

Captain Mike Ramsey and Lieutenant Curtis Roever maintained their positions, and there was little change amid the department’s business officers with President Graham Beard, Vice President Ben Kalbfleisch, Secretary Scott Soma, Treasurer Devin Hemmer and Sergeant-at-Arms Ben Rongey.

Prior to his chief appointment, Lloyd served as first assistant chief and second assistant chief for seven and two years, respectively, along with a stint as secretary for three years.

He has served as a member of the Waterloo Fire Department for 20 years and spoke positively about the current state of the department.

“We are going to continue to serve the community the best we can,” Lloyd said. “We have a great group of volunteers and a great working relationship with our district board.”

While his primary employment is as a logistics coordinator at Americom in South St. Louis County, Lloyd explained he took an interest in firefighting given the fact the job constantly keeps him on his toes.

“You never know what you’re gonna get into each call,” Lloyd said. “Every time that pager goes off, it’s like ‘OK, what’s this one gonna be? How bad is this one gonna be?’’’

He also offered some perspective regarding how firefighting has changed over the years he’s been serving.

As Lloyd described, the job has largely remained the same at its core, the changes in technology, regulations and other areas have demanded that the department constantly stay up-to-date.

He particularly discussed electric vehicles, mentioning how his department purchased a device which is able to plug into and disable a Tesla – the department had a specific incident in which a Tesla car was repeatedly locking its doors.

“The fire service has changed so much over the years,” Lloyd said. “Building construction materials have changed. Years ago, a fire could reach 1,500 degrees in about 20 minutes. With the new fire load characteristics and plastics, it could reach 2,000 degrees in about three minutes. Now we must focus on things such as anything containing lithium batteries, from cell phones to electric vehicles. With more and more electric vehicles on the road, we need to be trained and prepared for just about anything with them.”

The WFD, as Lloyd noted, has continued to grow and improve over the years, and he is now exceptionally proud of his peers and the department’s strong responses in the community given their substantial training.

Lloyd specifically discussed a shed fire which happened Tuesday afternoon on Hamacher Street, commending his fellow firefighters for their swift, well-organized management of the fire.

“Andrew and I were talking while I was on my way here about how smooth everything went, everybody just… they did their job, and it worked out really good,” Lloyd said. “They had it knocked down in no time… Everybody gets on scene, they know exactly what needs to be done. He said when they pulled up, they had 60-foot flames, and they got it knocked down quick.”

Lloyd further emphasized his satisfaction at being able to work in the department as well as his hopes for the WFD’s future responses.

“Being a member of the WFD has been outstanding,” Lloyd said. “Not only do I get to work with such great volunteers on this department, but I get to work with the brotherhood of volunteers and full-time members from the surrounding area. I am looking forward to the future of the WFD.”