MONROE — A Monticello native, school board member and longtime former firefighter, has ascended to the top job, Fire Chief, in the Madison Fire Department.

“Proud to announce that one of our own, Ron Blumer, has been appointed to Madison Fire Chief,” said a post on the Monticello Schools Facebook page. 

Hundreds commented with their congratulations to Blumer, including one poster who said “you make Monticello proud.”

Blumer also has served as a longtime member of the Monticello School Board and graduated from Monticello schools. He continued to volunteer for Monticello fire long after he was hired in Madison.

Prior to his new appointment, Blumer worked as a Division Chief in Madison, having joined the MFD in October of 1995. He started his firefighting career as a volunteer firefighter in 1992. 

He held several titles while serving with MFD, including firefighter, paramedic, apparatus engineer, lieutenant, and fire training captain. According to an MFD online bio of Blumer, he also served in specialty roles, including as a member of the Lake Rescue Team and the Heavy Urban Rescue Team. He has a bachelor’s degree in fire administration from Columbia Southern University and an associate’s degree from Madison College as a Fire Protection Technician.

As Division Chief of Fire Training prior to accepting his new job, Blumer managed the department’s recruit academies and training the field on fire suppression tactics and operations. He also had the Division Chief role for the Lake Rescue Team.    

Madison is a large department — fire companies serve from 14 fire stations across the city of nearly 270,000.

“Being a firefighter is basically you’re there to serve the community,” Ron said, in a 2018 Monroe Times profile. “No matter what it is. When they are calling for help, our job is to respond and answer that call. It is any time of day, no matter what you’re doing.”

Blumer, and his father Wilbert Blumer; and brother Scott spent more than a combined 100 years firefighting between the three of them. Wilbert started with the Monticello Fire Department in 1972. 

“I think, us growing up, no matter what we were doing, we knew if Dad’s pager went off, we knew Dad’s gone,” Blumer said in the interview. “You’re always putting the community above your own needs.”