SIDNEY — Deputy Fire Chief Cameron Haller of the Sidney Fire Department is one of three candidates for the position of Liberty Township Fire Department chief in Butler County.

Liberty Township’s current fire chief, Paul Stumpf, is planning to retire in September following 45 years of service to the township. He has served as the fire chief since 1985, when the department was still volunteer-based, and oversaw the shift to a full-time department in 1994. He announced his retirement last September.

There has been no decision made on who will take over Stumpf’s position, but the township hopes to have some overlap between the new chief and the old chief. The interview process is being conducted by the Ohio Fire Chiefs’ Association, which uses questionnaires to create a profile of the applicants before conducting oral interviews and assessment center testing.

Haller said his interview Wednesday went well.

“I participated in the final interview yesterday, and it was a very professional process,” he said.

Haller was one of 19 applicants and expects to hear a decision in two weeks. The other candidates are Keith Knisley, a battalion chief from Huber Heights, and Nicholas Hosford, Kettering’s assistant chief of administration.

Haller said that if he’s offered the position, he would not leave the Sidney department understaffed. He thinks, as he would have transition time with the outgoing chief in Liberty Township, his replacement in Sidney would have time with him.

“I’m not going to just up and leave Sidney (immediately),” he said. “I like to think my position here is critical, and if not, at least needed.”