After 27 years of serving Southlake, fire chief Mike Starr will move on to the next chapter in his life by the end of the month.
Before joining the city of Southlake in 1997, Chief Starr worked for nearly a decade in cities like Aubrey and The Colony. His first job in Southlake was as a firefighter and paramedic before being promoted to driver and engineer, then he served as captain of operations before becoming chief in 2008.
Since the beginning of his tenure, Chief Starr grew the department from 45 to 74 members and oversaw the opening of the Station 1 DPS Headquarters and the Station 3 North training facilities. With many years of service behind him, Chief Starr will retire from the fire department by the end of the month.
“Chief Starr’s guidance has been crucial in navigating the challenges of a growing department while maintaining high service standards,” city manager Alison Ortowski says in MySouthlakeNews.com “Throughout his tenure, he has remained committed to leading and developing a department that models best-in-class service delivery.”