With Chuck Edwards Retiring, Tim Geer Promoted To Bradenton Fire Chief Role: City

BRADENTON, FL — The city of Bradenton didn’t have to look far when appointing its next fire chief.

With Chief Chuck Edwards retiring after 33 years of service with the city, the Bradenton City Council approved the recommendation of Tim Geer to replace him, according to the city’s weekly newsletter.

Geer has served as assistant chief since 2019. He joined the department as a firefighter in October 1996.

Since then, he’s been promoted through the ranks, spending three years as training director and also serving as battalion chief.

Geer is also a founding member of the Special Operations program and has served as team coordinator and Light Technical Rescue Team leader, including the period that included Hurricane Katrina.

He was awarded the Congressional Service Award for service, leadership and a confirmed rescue of a fire victim.

"As training director, he was an integral member of the accreditation team, successfully led the department's first Florida Firefighters Occupational Safety and Health Act inspection, and implemented the department's hiring process improvement," the department told Patch in 2019.

The agency added, “As battalion chief, he has served as radio communications coordinator, contributed to the successful grant application for headsets (identified by the department's safety committee), and has been a model of best practices in incident command," the agency added.