Matt Krutzsch has four months to settle into leading the Antonia Fire Protection District.
Krutzsch, who has been the district’s deputy chief since June, began running the district on Jan. 7, when former Chief Mike Arnhart retired.
The fire district’s three-member Board of Directors voted unanimously Jan. 19 to name Krutzsch the interim chief, with the plan to eventually promote him to the top spot.
Antonia Fire board president Greg Dohack said he expects the board will remove the interim tag during the May 4 board meeting.
“It may be a situation where (Krutzsch) decides he doesn’t want to be the man in charge. I don’t foresee that, but you never know,” Dohack said. “The main thing is to make sure if we stay (with Krutzsch as chief), that he is comfortable in that role and to grade his performance in that period.”
“My aspirations are to be the chief,” said Krutzsch, 44, of Barnhart. “One of (Arnhart’s) goals was to get somebody prepared to be able to promote from within and keep everyone moving up in the district. Once he was able to get me in the office to help him and see where I am at, I think he felt comfortable with me moving up, and he can enjoy his retirement.”
Arnhart, 62, of High Ridge took over as chief at Antonia Fire in 2017, following a 40-year career with the High Ridge Fire Protection District, including 12 years as the chief.
“Before I would retire, I wanted to make sure that someone in the department could take over,” Arnhart said. “I think, when possible, it is good to promote from within and develop your personnel.
“(Krutzsch) is self-disciplined, and his initiative is very powerful. He has a strong willingness to improve, and I think he will carry that to the personnel in the organization and will continue to assist in the development of the personnel and moving the district forward. I think that and his years of commitment to the organization is a plus and advantage to the organization. He has seen where it was, where it is today and where it needs to go tomorrow.”
Arnhart was being paid a $90,000 annual salary as Antonia Fire’s chief.
Krutzsch is being paid $64,000 a year as the deputy chief and interim chief.
Stepping in
Krutzsch said he has been with Antonia Fire for 19 years, starting as a volunteer firefighter in 2001. He was hired as a full-time firefighter in 2003.
He said Arnhart started grooming him to potentially become chief at the start of 2020, while Krutzsch was an acting battalion chief.
“He encouraged battalion chiefs to come see how the office works,” Krutzsch said. “He would give us guidance. I took the initiative and worked with and learned from him.”
Krutzsch said the four-month interim period should allow him to complete an educational goal. He expects to complete online coursework with Columbia Southern University, based in Orange Beach, Ala., for a bachelor’s degree in fire science.
“I don’t want to become chief without a four-year degree,” Krutzsch said. “I believe a chief should have that, and that is what my goal is. In four months, I should have that accomplished.”
Dohack said Krutzsch already proved he can handle the chief duties when he temporarily served as the acting chief after Arnhart took time off following knee surgery in June.
“When Mike was out for medical reasons and Matt was the acting chief, he did a great job,” Dohack said. “I don’t foresee Matt having any problems, and he will do a great job for us. I am confident when it is all said and done, he will be the permanent chief.”
Krutzsch said if he does become the chief, he will focus on three priorities – maintaining a balanced budget, keeping equipment up to date, and finding ways to keep the district’s two houses staffed with three firefighters around the clock.
Krutzsch said Antonia Fire received a $380,000 SAFER grant in February 2020 that allowed the district to hire three firefighters to maintain adequate staffing. However, the grant only covers the cost of those firefighters’ salaries and benefits through February 2023.
“We have been in the red before, but we have been out of the red the last five years,” Krutzsch said. “You also have to prioritize that equipment needs are met, and I want to lay out a five-year plan for equipment needs. We also want to make it possible to budget to keep the three firefighters (hired with grant money) on payroll (when the grant funding runs out).”
Arnhart’s exit
Arnhart’s departure was not surprising, Dohack said.
When Anhart arrived in 2017, he talked about planning to retire in three to four years, and he worked to better train firefighters during that time, Dohack said.
“The biggest thing is the education we have been able to provide the firefighters,” Dohack said of one of the ways the district improved under Arnhart’s leadership. “Mike being a teacher for the University of Missouri, we benefited from that. Plus with the years he has experienced in the fire service, he has seen a lot of things. If you were willing to listen, he could teach you something about fire service.”
Arnhart said he began teaching fire training courses with the University of Missouri in Columbia in 1999, which has led to him teaching courses throughout the state and the nation.
He said he plans to continue teaching.
“If there was an item I would say was my passion in the fire service, I would have to say it was teaching and instructing other fire personnel,” he said.
Arnhart said some of his accomplishments at Antonia Fire of which he is most proud include receiving a SAFER grant in 2017 that allowed the hire of 14 firefighters, although some had to leave after the grant funding ended; helping the district’s rating to be lowered to class 4, which resulted in lower home insurance premiums for some residents; upgrading the department’s equipment; and navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I don’t think one person can take credit for anything. It was a group effort,” Arnhart said. “To me, that is what has made the past four years successful, how everyone worked together from the board of directors, to the office staff, to the firefighters to the continued support from the public.”
Dohack said the district will miss Arnhart’s experience.
“He has been in the fire service for 48 years, he has seen a thing or two,” Dohack said. “That wealth of knowledge will no longer be sitting in our building anymore.”
Arnhart said he plans to spend some of his retirement working on projects that have piled up at his home, as well as fishing and spending time with his family.
“The fire service has been one of the most incredible occupations and careers to ever have, and it has been a pleasure and an honor to serve the firefighters and the community,” Arnhart said.
The Antonia Fire district covers 36 square miles, including communities in Antonia, Barnhart, House Springs, Imperial, Liguori and Otto. The district employs 21 full-time firefighters and 15 part-time firefighters and has an approximately $2.5 million operating budget, Krutzsch said.