City of Columbus Fire Chief Chief Mike Compton has announced his plan to retire from the department in mid-July.
Compton was sworn as a firefighter on January 22, 1988 by former Mayor Robert Stewart.
Over his three decade career, Chief Compton was promoted through the ranks of sergeant, lieutenant, captain and battalion chief.
He was appointed fire chief on Jan. 1, 2016 by Mayor Jim Lienhoop. Compton’s official retirement date will be July 23, 2019 after serving 31 years as a City of Columbus firefighter.
Lienhoop and Compton worked together to name Compton’s successor. Leinhoop has selected Andy Lay, currently serving as deputy chief of fire department operations, as the next fire chief. Lay will take over as fire chief on July 23.
Lay has served as the Deputy Chief of Operations since 2016, and has served the Columbus Fire Department since 1997.
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
