BOISE – After an internal review of applications from 40 qualified candidates for Fire Chief and 33 qualified candidates for the Director of Parks & Recreation, and initial interviews with the top eight and five respectively, four applicants have been selected as finalists for Fire Chief and two applicants have been chosen as finalists for Parks & Rec. Finalists have been invited to a series of panel interviews with internal stakeholders, local agency partners and community members in September.
The public is invited to meet the two finalists for the Director of Parks & Recreation at an open house that is being planned for September 11, 2025. Additional details will be announced closer to that date.
Sara Arkle has worked for the Department of Parks & Recreation for a decade, first as the city’s Foothills and Open Space Superintendent and most recently managing the city’s public park properties, Boise River Greenbelt and recreational facilities as the Parks Resources Superintendent.
Mark Olson currently serves as the Parks and Recreation Director for the city of San Marcos, California. Mark has spent the past 20 years working for Parks departments in California in increasingly responsible roles.
The city will host an open house where community members can meet the four finalists for Boise’s next Fire Chief on September 18, 2025, at City Hall West. More specific details will be announced closer to that date.
Assistant Fire Chief Brad Bolen has been a firefighter since 1992, working as a wildland firefighter, Fire Operations Supervisor and Fire Management Specialist with the BLM before joining Boise Fire in 2012. Chief Bolen currently serves as Assistant Fire Chief of Emergency Services where he oversees emergency planning and management and fire department operations.
Assistant Fire Chief Romeo Gervais started his career as a Fire Protection Engineer, designing fire protection systems before moving to Loveland, Colorado for a 10-year stint as Deputy Fire Marshal. Chief Gervais leads the fire prevention, public education, logistics and wildland fire divisions at Boise Fire and served as acting Fire Chief for six months in 2020.
After serving in the U.S. Navy, Division Chief Aaron Hummel joined the Boise Fire Department in 1995 where he spent ten years on the city’s busiest companies. Chief Hummel currently oversees the department’s battalion chiefs, spending the last two decades in operations leadership as a Captain and Battalion Chief.
District Chief Michael Mire is a 28-year fire service veteran currently serving as District Chief of Emergency Operations at the City of Houston Fire Department in Texas where he directs all-hazards emergency response. Chief Mire has extensive leadership experience in professional development and emergency operations.
The city’s current Director of Parks & Recreation, Doug Holloway, is set to retire on October 31, 2025. Fire Chief Mark Niemeyer will retire on November 30, 2025.
