Helmberger officially sworn in as Stillwater's new Fire Chief
The longtime Stillwater resident previously served as assistant chief and fire marshal in Midwest City
Duane C. Helmberger II officially took the oath of office Thursday as Stillwater's new fire chief, concluding a comprehensive search process that gave department members and community stakeholders a voice in selecting their new leader.
Municipal Judge Tanya C. Raun administered the oath during an afternoon ceremony at the Stillwater Municipal Building, with Mayor Will Joyce, Vice Mayor Amy Dzialowski and City Councilor Kevin Clark in attendance along with firefighters and other city officials.
"As you take your oath today, let it be a vow to serve with integrity, to act with courage, and to honor the faith placed in you as chief of the Stillwater Fire Department," City Manager Brady Moore told Helmberger during the ceremony.
The city announced Helmberger's selection Oct. 14. Helmberger has served as assistant chief and fire marshal at Midwest City Fire Department since 2016, overseeing fire prevention, risk reduction, code compliance and interdepartmental coordination across a six-station, 89-member department. His tenure there included launching the FireLink Midwest City program, which reduced 911 calls from frequent callers by up to 90 percent through intervention strategies.
Helmberger, who has lived in Stillwater for 14 years, is a graduate of Oklahoma State University with a bachelor's degree in fire protection and safety engineering and holds an MBA from Southeastern Oklahoma State University. He recently completed the Executive Fire Officer program and holds Chief Fire Officer and Fire Marshal designations from the Center for Public Safety Excellence.
Deputy City Manager Christy Driskel, who led the search, said the city deliberately expanded the traditional interview process to include multiple touchpoints and ensure buy-in from the fire department's rank-and-file members. The city used a similar process earlier this year to hire Police Chief Christopher Hassig.
"Chief Helmberger brings more than a decade of progressive fire service leadership, along with a strong commitment to community partnerships and firefighter safety that will help the department advance even more," Driskel said. "His experience developing innovative programs and fostering collaboration will serve the department and our residents well."
Driskel said the process began with surveying the fire department about what qualities they wanted in their new leader.
"First off, what are we looking for? Ask the department what changes we need, what leadership they want, what they see as what their department really wants," Driskel said in an interview. "This one was, there was an initial screening with preliminary questions, there was an in-person panel, there was a community stakeholder panel, and there was a department interview."
The department interview represented a significant departure from past hiring practices. Both finalists for fire chief and the finalists for police chief earlier this year stood before their respective departments and answered questions submitted in advance by department members.
"Both chiefs stood in front of their departments and had questions that they had submitted in advance only from their department members that were asked," Driskel said. "This allowed different avenues to see, 'did we change in 15 minutes or did we see what it was, and how's the consistency.'"
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Councilor Clark, who attended Thursday's ceremony, said he knew Helmberger socially before learning late in the process that he had emerged as a finalist.
"His wife used to work with my wife," Clark said. "We used to go to the Child Development Lab on campus. And so we would see each other at department gatherings like Christmas parties."
Clark said Helmberger had long hoped to lead a fire department as chief but wasn't willing to uproot his family from Stillwater to pursue that goal.
"It was my understanding that he wanted to be chief, but he wasn't going to be down there [Midwest City] because he lived here and his wife worked here," Clark said. "It was my understanding that he jumped at the chance when he looked at it and he applied and very quickly rose to the top."
Helmberger told firefighters during the ceremony that he's spent the past three weeks visiting fire stations and getting to know department members.
"I've been spending probably an hour to two hours every shift trying to get to the stations," Helmberger said. "I'm excited about the future. The surveys, the information I've gotten from the guys is great. We've got a long way to go, but a huge foundation that we are already set with."
He acknowledged his status as "the new guy" and joked about preferring to wear blue shirts instead of white shirts as he walks through fire stations. During one visit to Station 4, he said, a firefighter who had just woken up didn't recognize him and asked colleagues about the visitor's identity.
The shorter commute from his home near Stillwater to the fire department has also been a welcome change from his previous daily drive to Midwest City.
"That 15-minute drive to work has probably been the best thing so far," Helmberger said.
Fire Chief Duane Helmberger's family pins on his badge Thursday following his swearing-in ceremony at the Stillwater Municipal Building. Helmberger's wife is a Stillwater educator, and they have three children. The family has lived in Stillwater for 14 years. – Photos by Chris Peters
His wife is a Stillwater educator, and they have three children.
Moore emphasized the city's confidence in Helmberger's leadership during the ceremony, citing both his professional experience and his commitment to Stillwater as a longtime resident.
"There is just a level of excellence that we know we are blessed with in Stillwater, and we know it's not consistent in other communities, and we have that here in Stillwater," Moore said. "We're grateful for the new leader and the new leadership that we have here at the city of Stillwater."
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