NTF Appoints New Fire Chief May 2021
Tahoe City, Calif. May 6, 2021 – At its April 27, 2021 Board meeting, the Board of Directors announced the appointment of Steve Leighton as Fire Chief for the North Tahoe Fire Protection District.
The Board selected Leighton to replace retiring Chief Mike Schwartz, who served as North Tahoe’s Fire Chief since 2012. During Schwartz’s 9-year tenure with NTF, his priorities were to improve personnel, apparatus, facilities, and finances. He successfully increased staffing from 28 full-time employees to 65, while modernizing the District’s fleet and facilities. He inherited a post-recession budget of $9.6 million that he grew to just over $17 million. The District’s service area grew to include the west shore via contract for service with Meeks Bay Fire Protection District in 2014. Prior to his retirement, Schwartz renewed a 15-year agreement to continue to provide service to Alpine Meadows via contract with the Alpine Springs County Water District.
