By Josh Margolis
HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – In a press release Monday morning, Havre Mayor Doug Kaercher announced that he would be appointing Nathan Courtnage to serve as the city’s next Fire Chief.
Courtnage, a native of Havre, had been the Assistant Fire Chief for three years and is now interim Fire Chief. The City Council will vote to confirm his appointment at their July 5th meeting.
A statement from Courtnage in the press release says “I look forward to leading the dedicated members of the Havre Fire Department and continuing to provide excellent service to the Havre community and the surrounding area.”
In the press release, Kaercher stated that “(Courtnage’s) experience and desire to lead will make a great difference in our already outstanding Fire Department. He is a valued asset to the City with his knowledge of firefighting, emergency medical and budgeting.”
The announcement comes after several days of uncertainty regarding leadership at the Fire Department.
Initially, retiring Fire Chief Mel Paulson said that Courtnage would be stepping down, and Courtnage sent an email to the local Law Enforcement Planning Committee stating that as well.
Hill County DES Coordinator and Fire Warden Amanda Frickel stated she was told that Police Chief Gabe Matosich would be serving as interim head of the fire department until an appointment was made.
Matosich did not respond to a request for comment last week regarding whether he was told he would serve as interim fire department head.
Frickel was unavailable for comment on Monday morning and has said she is taking medical leave this week and will be out of the office. However, she stated over the weekend before the news officially broke that she “could not be more pleased” with the decision to promote Courtnage, adding that he will “lead his department with integrity and diligence, and we are lucky to have him.”
Kaercher declined to comment on the leadership shakeup until issuing the press release on Monday morning, which did not elaborate on the process the decision was reached.
