Published March 24 2015
City Manager Brad Miyake has appointed Interim Fire Chief Mark Risen as the permanent fire chief, effective immediately.
Miyake promoted Risen to the Interim position last June, following the retirement of former Fire Chief Mike Eisner. Since that time, Miyake said, Risen has continued to move the department forward, striving for excellence.
"Over the past year, Chief Risen has proven to be a steady commander. This is the type of leader a department with a stellar performance record -- like ours -- needs," Miyake said. "I could not be more proud of what Chief Risen has been able to achieve."
Risen's resume includes 36 years as a firefighter, 32 of which have been with the Bellevue Fire Department, where he rose through the ranks from firefighter to firefighter/engineer, lieutenant, captain, battalion chief and deputy chief. In addition to serving as interim fire chief in Bellevue the past nine months, Risen was interim chief for six months at the Woodinville Fire Department.