CHIEF KARL ISSELHARD

PIMA COUNTY AZ

Chief Isselhard is a 26-year veteran of the Fire Service and is currently the Fire Chief for Rural Metro Fire Department in Pima county, AZ.  This operation serves numerous unincorporated communities in Pima County, including Catalina Foothills, the Town of Sahuarita, and the following four fire districts: Hidden Valley, Sabino Vista, Tanque Verde, and Tucson Country Club Estates.

Chief Isselhard holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from Eastern New Mexico University. He began his firefighting career as a paramedic/firefighter with the Bernalillo County Fire Department near Albuquerque, NM in 1996. He then served concurrently as an instructor for Eastern New Mexico University and joined the Albuquerque Fire Department in 2001 as a firefighter/paramedic. Chief Isselhard progressed through the ranks of the Albuquerque Fire Department to Deputy Chief of Human Resources and EMS, before retiring and joining Rural Metro as their Fire Chief in June of 2017.

Chief Isselhard and his wife Amber have a 16-year-old son who is a sophomore in high school and plays ice hockey, and an 18-year-old daughter who attends Arizona State University, majoring in Aerospace Engineering.  They also three dogs, Colt, Bindy and Dexter. Chief Isselhard is an avid hunter and enjoys anything outdoors including hiking, fishing, wakeboarding, wakesurfing, and riding quads.