Final two candidates for new La Crosse fire chief in town this week

One candidate appears to have retired
under questionable circumstances in D.C.

The final two candidates for fire chief will be in La Crosse for interviews this week for face-to-face interviews.

Curiously, of the 14 who applied for the job, Brian Lee and Ken Gilliam are the only two to be granted in-person interviews. None of the internal candidates made the final cut for the job.

Lee is a retired deputy fire chief from Washington, D.C., while Gilliam is a deputy fire chief for the St. Paul Fire Dept.

Lee arrives under a cloud of concern from the local fire department union, the head of which was contacted by the union in D.C. The D.C. union warned of the character of Lee, who apparently retired under questionable circumstances.