A fire chief who came to Ignacio to be the deputy fire chief will now be the chief again.

Tom Aurnhammer, who has 40 years of firefighting experience, including 13 with the Los Pinos Fire Protection District, has been named the district's new chief.

He will take over next month from longtime head Larry Behrens, who is retiring after 25 years with the district. The two are sharing duties for the next month before Behrens retires.

Although Aurnhammer initially planned to retire after Behrens did, he said he was pleased to be offered another opportunity to run a department. He was the fire chief in Farmington when he retired the first time in 2003, then he took the deputy chief slot in Los Pinos.

The Los Pinos board conducted a national search for a new chief and narrowed down the search to three finalists, he said. One dropped out of the process, and the other two were interviewed for the position.

Aurnhammer said the board members didn't have the comfort level that they wanted with the candidates, "so we had some discussions, and here I am."

Aurnhammer said Los Pinos is a "great organization" that is facing some challenges, but he's looking forward to working on those. He doesn't foresee any huge changes in staffing or operations at this time for the department's 15 full-time employees and 15 reservists.

Aurnhammer said one of his goals as chief is long-range planning. He plans to stay at Los Pinos another five years and wants to make sure there's a succession plan in place when he leaves. He also wants to focus on strategic planning, looking at five years out, as well as 10 and 15 years, for the department as a whole. Finances could continue to be a challenge as oil and gas revenues continue to drop.

In March, Behrens said the district is looking at a $1 million reduction in property tax income in 2017.

A mill-levy increase could be a possibility, but there are no plans to ask voters to approve one in the immediate future, Aurnhammer said.

Los Pinos residents might need to decide if they want to pay higher property taxes for fire protection or higher insurance rates, he explained.

"It's six of one or a half-dozen of the other," he said. "That will be a decision of our constituents, and it needs to be an informed decision."

Thus, the need for the strategic plan, he said.

Aurnhammer started his fire career as a volunteer in 1976 in New Jersey, where his family's roots in the profession run deep. Pictures of his great-grandfather and grandfather with firewagons adorn his office. His brother works at the same department, and his nephew is now the sixth generation of his family working there.

"It's almost like I grew up in a firehouse," he said. He joined Farmington in 1980 as a firefighter and was named chief in 1998, serving for five years before taking his first retirement.

As Los Pinos chief, Aurnhammer said his first priority will be the safety of the community, followed closely by the safety of his staff.

"They have to have the ability to go home after their shift," he said. "That means they have to be trained to recognize the risks in a safe manner."

The board and staff also want to be cognizant of the district's past, he said. There's another picture in his office, one of Butch McClanahan, one of the founders of the district, with some of the first fire hoses Los Pinos had on hand. Another picture shows the old firehouse and police station the two agencies used to share in Ignacio. "This is the flavor of where we come from," he said.

"The board of directors is very pleased to promote Chief Aurnhammer, based upon his experience, as well as his personal and professional accomplishments throughout his long career," said Mark Williams, Los Pinos board president, in a statement from the board. "We are excited for what he will bring to the organization in his new role."

He completed the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer Program in 1993, and recently graduated Summa Cum Laude from Columbia Southern University with a bachelor's degree in fire administration.

He and his wife, Lori, reside in Ignacio.

"I love Ignacio," he said. "It's very quiet."

Except when it isn't, such as at San Ignacio Fiesta and the Four Corners Motorcycle Rally every summer. "It's got its moments, but all in all, it's a great place to live."

Aurnhammer will formally take over the department at the district's next board meeting on Monday, Aug. 8.