Battalion Chief’s
Battalion Chief Dustin Armentrout was appointed to the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department on July 21, 2000. Promotions followed to Lieutenant on March 2, 2011 and then to Captain on February 26, 2014. He was promoted to Battalion Chief on May 18, 2017
Battalion Chief Armentrout holds an Associate’s Degree in Fire Science from Owens Community College and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Fire Administration from Bowling Green State University. He is also a certified State of Ohio Fire Service and E.M.S. Instructor and Fire Inspector. Battalion Chief Armentrout has served as the Captain of the Professional Standards Bureau.
Battalion Chief Armentrout is currently assigned to "B" Platoon.
Battalion Chief Dexter Baker was appointed to the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department on March 22, 1996. He was promoted to Captain on March 15, 2013 and served as the Captain of station 25 until his promotion to Battalion Chief on May 18, 2017.
Battalion Chief Baker currently serves as Battalion Chief of Field Operations.
Battalion Chief Todd Besteda joined the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department on June 28, 1996. Battalion Chief Besteda was promoted to Lieutenant on March 25, 2009, and was then promoted to Captain on August 4, 2011. He was promoted to Battalion Chief on December 27, 2013.
Battalion Chief Besteda is an United State Army veteran, serving four years, eight months in the Army. He served in the first Gulf War, Desert Shied/Desert Storm, and earned the Combat Infantry Badge during his deployment. Battalion Chief Besteda is a Hazardous Material Technician and holds a Fire Service Instructor certificate.
Battalion Chief Besteda is currently assigned to "B" Platoon.
Battalion Chief Matthew Brixey was appointed to the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department on March 31, 2000. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 2009, to Captain on March 15, 2013, and to Battalion Chief on June 1, 2018.
Battalion Chief Brixey is a Dive Master and a HAZMAT Officer/Safety Officer for the Hazardous Materials Team. He is trained as a Confined Space Rescue Technician along with Trench Rescue Operations, Rope Rescue Operations and Structural Collapse Technician for the Confined Space/U.S.A.R. Team.
Battalion Chief Brixey holds an Associates Degree in Fire Science from Owens Community College and a Bachelors Degree of Science in Fire Administration from Bowling Green State University.
Battalion Chief Brixey is currently assigned to relief B-Shift.
Battalion Chief Sharyl Close was appointed to the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department on September 11, 1992. She is currently pursuing an Associate Degree in Fire Science from Owens Community College. She is a certified fire safety officer, is certified by United States Coast Guard as a Merchant Marine Officer and has been National Registered, State of Ohio paramedic since July 2008.
Battalion Chief Close is currently assigned to the Professional Standards Burreau.
Battalion Chief Verdell Franklin was appointed to the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department on September 11, 1992. He was promoted to Lieutenant on January 19, 2010, and to Captain on July 17, 2013. On March 7, 2014 he was promoted to Chief Financial Officer and assigned the responsibility of the Fire Administration Office. He was promoted to Battalion Chief on December 10, 2021. He began his career assigned to Fire Station 17 where he was trained in Confined Space Rescue. Chief Franklin has an Associate degree of Applied Business Accounting
Battalion Chief Orlando Gonzalez began his career with the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department with his appointment on September 11, 1992. His promotion to Lieutenant came in 2003, Captain in 2010, and then to Battalion Chief in 2014.
Battalion Chief Gonzalez is a Hazardous Materials Technician, a member of the Critical Incident Stress Debriefing Team, and Fire Service Instructor. During his career, Battalion Chief Gonzalez was assigned to stations 7, 9, House Captain of Station 14 as well as relief Battalion Chief and Alarm Office Supervisor.
Battalion Chief Gonzalez is currently assigned to "B" Platoon.
Battalion Chief Luke Harman was appointed to the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department on July 21, 2000. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 2011, to Captain on March 21, 2014 and to Battalion Chief on September 27, 2019.
Battalion Chief Harman holds an Associates Degree of Applied Science in Fire Science from Kaplan University and a Bachelor's Degree of Science in Fire Science from Purdue University Global. He is a State of Ohio certified fire instructor, incident safety officer, hazmat technician, and holds a NFPA Fire Officer 4 certification. He is currently on the Board of Governors for the Old Newsboy Goodfellow Association (volunteer).
Battalion Chief Harman currently assigned to “A” Platoon.
Battalion Chief Kirk Keane was appointed to the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department on July 7, 1997. He was promoted to Lieutenant March 15, 2013, Captain on June 1, 2018, and to Battalion Chief on December 10, 2021
Battalion Chief Keane is currently assigned Bureau of Professional Standards.
Battalion Chief Robert Krause was appointed to the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department on July 16, 1993. On June 19, 1998 he was promoted to Lieutenant, and on February 14, 2003 to Captain. He was promoted to Battalion Chief in June of 2009. He has been a certified paramedic since 1981.
Battalion Chief Krause has served as Captain of Communications, the Training Academy, and Fire Station 6. He also served as Battalion Chief of the E.M.S. Bureau.
Battalion Chief Krause holds certifications as a Hazardous Materials Technician, Fire Service Instructor, and E.M.S. Services Instructor. Battalion Chief Krause attained his Bachelor's degree from the University of Cincinnati, Master Degree from Bellevue University, and a Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.) from Bowling Green State University.
Battalion Chief Krause is currently assigned as Senior Battalion Chief, "A" platoon.
Battalion Chief Michael Nicely was appointed to the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department on September 11, 1992. Promoted to Lieutenant in 2008, he served 15 years as both a Lieutenant and Private ay Station 17. Promoted to Captain in 2011, he served as a relief Captain until receiving the bid to Station 6 in January of 2014. On May 23, 2014, he was promoted to Battalion Chief.
Battalion Chief Nicely became a paramedic in 2009. He earned a Bachelor's Degree with a major in History and a minor in Film from the University of Toledo in 1999. He finished his associate degree in Fire Science at Owens Community College in 2001.
Battalion Chief Nicely is a veteran of the U.S. Army National Guard where he served as a Military Police soldier and participated in two REFORGER operations in western Germany along with service during Desert Storm.
In his off time Battalion Chief Nicely is currently working towards a degree in Fire Administration through Bowling Green State University. He also works with Veterans Matter, an organization working toward ending veteran homelessness in America, one veteran at a time.
Battalion Chief Nicely is currently assigned to "A" Platoon.
Battalion Chief Thomas Phillips was appointed to the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department on March 22, 1996. He was promoted to Lieutenant February 29, 2008, to Captain on May 1, 2011, and to Battalion Chief on September 27, 2019.
Battalion Chief Phillips holds a Bachelors Degree in Education from University of Toledo and a Master of Science in Leadership with an Emphasis in Disaster Preparedness and Executive Fire Leadership from Grand Canyon University. He is a State of Ohio certified fire and E.M.S. Instructor, confined space technician, and has been certified as a paramedic since March 2000.
Battalion Chief Phillips is currently assigned to “C” Platoon.
Battalion Chief Michael Posadny was appointed to the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department on September 11, 1992. He promoted to Lieutenant on November 7, 2005. His promotion to Captain came on March 21, 2014 and was promoted to Battalion Chief on February 26, 2021. Battalion Chief Posadny received his Paramedic certification on November 21, 2016.
Battalion Chief Posadny is currently assigned to Special Operations Bureau.
Battalion Chief James Price appointed to the Toledo Fire and Rescue Department on September 11, 1992, after completing his Associate Degree in Fire Science at Owens Community College. He received his paramedic certification in 1997 and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in 1998. He served the department in the Communications Bureau until transferring to Field Operations where he served as a relief officer on “B” Platoon and later as the shift officer at fire station #11 on “A” Platoon.
Battalion Chief Price was promoted to Captain in 2005 and remained in Field Operations as a relief officer on “A” Platoon until 2009 when he accepted an assignment as station commander at fire station 18 on “B” Platoon. While at station 18, he completed the department’s Confined Space Training. In 2007, he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Public Safety from Siena Heights University. In 2007 he obtained his State Fire Instructor’s certification. In 2010, he was promoted to Battalion Chief. He is 2015 graduate of the Executive Fire Officer Program at The National Fire Academy and he completed his MS in Executive Fire Leadership and Disaster Preparedness from Grand Canyon University in 2017.
Battalion Chief Price is currently assigned to “B” Platoon, Battalion Chief 2.
Battalion Chief Ted Sheares was appointed to the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department on March 31, 2000. He was promoted to Lieutenant September 2011, Captain in 2014, and to Battalion Chief on September 26, 2022
Battalion Chief Sheares holds a Associates Degree in Law Enforcement Technologies from the University of Toledo and a Bachelors of Applied Science from Siena Heights University with a Major in Public Safety Studies and a Minor in Health Care Management. He is a State of Ohio certified hazmat technician and fire instructor.
Battalion Chief Sheares currently serves as the Executive Finance Administrator.
Battalion Chief Jeremy Vedra was appointed to the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department on March 31, 2000.
On August 17, 2012 he was promoted to Lieutenant, and on September 20, 2019 to Captain. He was promoted to Battalion Chief was on September 26, 2022.
Battalion Chief Vedra holds an Associates Degree in Fire Science from Owens Community College. He is a State of Ohio certified safety officer, and hazmat technician.
Battalion Chief Vedra is currently assigned to "B" Platoon.
Battalion Chief Damon Williams was appointed to the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department on July 7, 1993. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 2001, Captain in 2010, and to Battalion Chief in 2013.
Battalion Chief Williams is a National Incident Management System, All-Hazards Type III Communications Unit Leader (COML), certified by the State of Ohio, Dept. of Public Safety and the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security. He is trained as an Incident Safety Officer from the Ohio Fire Academy and as an All-Risks Incident Dispatcher. He was assigned to Station 4 until his move to the Communications Bureau as a Lieutenant, where he served as the Acting Captain of Communications until his promotion to the position.
Battalion Chief Williams has managed the Communications and Professional Standards Bureaus, and served as Battalion 2 and Relief Battalion on A-Shift, in the Operations Bureau. He received the Presidential Certificate of Appreciation from the Ohio Fire Chiefs’ Association in 2016 and is currently finishing his Bachelor’s Degree in Fire Administration from Bowling Green State University.
Battalion Chief Williams is currently assigned to “C” Platoon, Battalion Chief 2.