LOVELAND, OHIO - FORMER LOVELAND/SYMMES BATTALION CHIEF PROMOTED TO ACTING CHIEF OF NOVI, MICHIGAN

LOVELAND, OHIO - ON FEBRUARY 21,  Jeffery R. Johnson was named acting chief of the Novi, Michigan Fire Department.

Johnson, 42, was hired as assistant fire chief in 1999, when he joined Novi's department from Loveland, Ohio. Johnson served for 16 years with the Loveland-Symmes Fire Department in Loveland, where he was a Battalion Fire Chief.

Johnson and his wife, Elizabeth, have two children, Heather, 17, and Holly, 13. He is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati and is completing a master's degree in liberal studies, with a concentration in public safety technology, at Eastern Michigan University.

When Novi hires a new city manager, possibly by the spring, the city is expected to make a decision about hiring a permanent fire chief.

Johnson oversees a combination of full time and paid-on-call employees who operate from four fire stations located throughout the city.

"I was pleased to appoint Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Johnson to the important public safety position of Acting Fire Chief," said Interim City Manager Clay Pearson. "We are very fortunate to have someone so capable to fill this role from within our staff. Jeff will continue to lead our Novi Fire Department with its combined system in an outstanding fashion."

Acting Chief Johnson is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the Southeastern Michigan Association of Fire Chiefs, the Western Oakland Mutual Aid Association, and the Western Wayne County Fire Department Mutual Association.

Novi is in Oakland County, Michigan, in the Detroit metropolitan area, approximately 25 miles northwest from the center of Detroit. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 47,386. Novi is one of the fastest growing cities in Michigan, and is now considered to be one of the most affluent cities in Michigan.