Bath Township Trustees Name New Fire Chief

The Bath Township Board of Trustees appointed Walter H. Hower as the township's new fire chief during its Monday night meeting.

Hower replaces , who retired March 15. will resume his role as assistant fire chief when Hower takes over the helm in January.

Hower is an associate professor of fire protection technology at the University of Akron. He has been working part time for the Bath Township Fire Department since July of 1987. He rose in rank to lieutenant in 1995 and to captain in 2003.

Before coming to the Bath Township Fire Department, Hower worked as a full-time firefighter for the Cuyahoga Falls Fire Department.

Hower holds an associate's degree in fire protection technology, a bachelor's in construction technology and a master's in public service administration. He is the son of the recently .

Hower was one of 31 candidates who applied for the position. The Board of Trustees appointed a selection committee to narrow down those candidates to five. The committee was made up of members of the public, fire service personnel and Trustee James Nelson.

The committee put the five candidates through a battery of tests and questions that included testing at PRADCO, a management psychologists testing service in Chagrin Falls, and extensive background checks. The trustees then reviewed the results and posed further questions to each candidate and conducted individual interviews, according to a statement from the Bath Township Administrator's office.

A lifetime Bath resident, Hower is married and has four daughters. He will be officially sworn in at the trustees' Jan. 3 meeting.