Westminster Fire chief Doug Hall to retire after 43 years with the city

When Westminster Fire Chief Doug Hall first picked up a hose in the city in 1978, the suburb had only 50,000 residents.

With Westminster’s population more than doubling since then, Hall — chief of the force for the past decade — will call it quits this summer.

“The opportunity to lead the finest fire department in the nation was a job of a lifetime, but it is not meant to be a job for a lifetime,” Hall said. “I am honored and proud to serve the community that I have called home for over four decades.”

Hall’s actual retirement date is set for July 3. Under his leadership, the Westminster Fire Department earned an ISO Class 1 rating — the Center for Public Safety Excellence’s highest accreditation — a rating given to fewer than 300 agencies nationwide.

Hall served in leadership positions for the Adams and Jefferson County Hazardous Materials Response Authority over the last two years and he represents Colorado cities as a member of the Colorado Fire Commission. Since he began his firefighting career in Westminster, the department’s headcount has grown from 18 firefighters and one staffed station to 143 employees and six staffed stations.

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