By City of Alliance
The City of Alliance is pleased to announce the hiring of Brad Schrum as its new Fire Chief. Chief Schrum began his career with the City of Alliance Fire Department in 1979 as a Firefighter/EMT and most recently served as the Assistant Fire Chief.
Throughout the hiring process, Chief Schrum has demonstrated his dedication to serving the community in this new role through several rounds of testing and interviews. “I am very excited to be chosen as the new Fire Chief for the City,” said Schrum. “I have been with this Fire Department for over 48 years and have gained a wealth of knowledge and experience working alongside some of the greatest people. This new role will present new and interesting challenges ahead. The fire service is changing at a fast pace and keeping up with new technology, tactics, and equipment will keep me busy.”
When asked about the current department, he noted “Our department is comprised of 47 volunteers that support the paid staff of four. These men and women have been very active in training with some becoming Paramedics while others have achieved certification as Firefighter I and Hazardous Materials Operations level. We conduct in-house training as well to bring our group up to a high level of knowledge and experience in all fields of EMS, fire suppression, and just about anything else we receive a call for service for. We have a great group of firefighters here and words cannot express the amount of gratitude I have for them and what they do for the community.”
Chief Schrum also recognized the foundation established by the previous Chief, Troy Shoemaker. “[He] put a lot of things in place for the Fire Department to be able to train its members to be the best in class. We have achieved an Insurance Services Organization rating of a 3 – very beneficial for commercial business’ fire insurance rates, and an incentive for more business to come to our City and grow. I plan to continue to maintain that rating and provide the community with the best fire protection and EMS service possible.” He also thanked the community for supporting the Alliance Fire Department.
In addition to congratulating Chief Schrum, the City also wishes to express sincere gratitude to all those who assisted in this rigorous selection process: this includes members of the Rural Fire Board, Alliance Volunteer Fire Department, City of Alliance Police Department, Box Butte General Hospital, North Platte Fire Department, Alliance Civil Service Commission, PREMA, WNCC, Alliance Chamber of Commerce, the City of Alliance Human Resources Department and the entire Leadership Team. We also want to thank our current City of Alliance Fire Department staff for your continued commitment to serving and protecting our region.
Chief Schrum will begin his new role on October 1, 2026 and will be recognized at the City Council Meeting on Tuesday, October 6 at 5:30 p.m.
For additional information, please contact the City of Alliance at 308-762-5400.