Hall has served with the department for 20 years as firefighter, equipment operator, truck captain, fire captain and battalion chief before being named an assistant chief.

"We had a strong field of candidates, so it is encouraging to see how well David compared to his peers in the industry," City Manager Greg Burris said. "I'm delighted we were able to make an internal promotion. David and Randy Villines have successfully run the department through a difficult period this summer and fall. I am very confident David will now take the department forward as it addresses challenges including rebuilding the staff with next year's fire academy and maintaining the ISO rating with a solid action plan."

Burris expressed appreciation to Villines for also serving as co-interim fire chief since June. He will return to his position as assistant chief of Technical Operations. (Villines did not apply for the Chief's position.)

A native of Mountain Grove, Hall, 47, graduated from Southwest Missouri State University with both bachelor's and master's degrees in business management and administration. He teaches management classes part-time at Missouri State University and teaches at the University of Missouri Fire Rescue Training Institute in Columbia. He also is a Fire Department representative of the Police Officers' and Firefighters' Retirement Fund System Board of Trustees.

"We still have challenging times ahead of us, but I'm very excited about leading the Department as we tackle these issues," Hall said.

Hall, 47, is the president of the Leadership Springfield Alumni Association. He and his wife, Beth, have two grown children.