City Manager Barry Tippin announced the appointment of Cullen Kreider to be Fire Chief for the City of Redding. Kreider’s appointment is subject to approval by the City Council and is expected to be considered at the November 6th City Council meeting.
Chief Kreider has been with the Redding Fire Department for 27 years and will be the first Chief to come up through the ranks of Redding Fire since 1986. Kreider was Deputy Chief for the past three years and was named Interim Chief July 2, 2018 after the passing of Chief Gerry Gray.
Kreider has been in the fire service for a total of 32 years, beginning as a seasonal firefighter with the California Department of Forestry (CDF). He worked as a Student Firefighter with Redding Fire Department before leaving to work as a full-time Firefighter with the El Dorado Hills Fire Department. He returned to Redding in 1993 and progressed through the ranks from Firefighter/Engineer to Captain to Battalion Chief to Deputy Chief. Chief Kreider has held every rank in the Redding Fire Department.
Kreider grew up in Redding and attended Alta Mesa and Manzanita Elementary Schools, Sequoia Middle School, and Nova and Shasta High School. He completed an Associate of Arts degree in Fire Technology at Shasta Community College and a Bachelor of Science degree in Fire Administration from Cogswell Polytechnical in Sunnyvale, California. He completed the Fire Officer Certification and Chief Fire Officer Certification from the California State Fire Marshal. Kreider has been married to his wife, Michelle, for 19 years and together they have two children.
Kreider was chosen following a national search that attracted 24 highly qualified candidates nationwide. Four qualified candidates were formally interviewed by both community and professional panels. As Chief, Kreider would be paid a monthly salary of $12,535 and oversee a department of 80 personnel with an annual budget of approximately $20 million.
“Chief Kreider showed exemplary character throughout the largest disaster Redding has seen,” says City Manager Barry Tippin. “Not only was he indispensable during the Carr Fire, he has already made an impact as a strong leader to our Fire Department. I am happy to officially call him a member of our leadership team.”
