CANFIELD, OH, December 17, 2019– Chief Don Hutchison and Deputy Chief Matt Rarick, both of Cardinal Joint Fire District, recently earned the Ohio Fire Chiefs’ Association’s Fire Chief designation. To achieve this designation, applicants are measured against a predetermined set of standards. Applications are reviewed by a panel of the chiefs’ peers statewide and voted on by the Association’s Board of Directors.

Hutchison and Rarick join fellow credentialed officers Captains Rob Tieche, Troy Kolar, and Conner O’Halloran, making Cardinal Joint Fire District the first department in the Mahoning Valley to have all members of its command staff credentialed.

The Ohio Fire Chiefs’ Association began this designation in 2014 and it is open to chiefs of full-time, part-time and volunteer departments. Measured criteria include experience, education, community leadership, and Fire Service leadership skills. Credentialed officers must renew their credentials every three years.