Albemarle County will soon begin looking for a new person to oversee fire and rescue operations now that Chief Dan Eggleston has announced his retirement after 23 years in the position.
“The progress we have made together has been possible because of the dedication of our volunteers and staff,” Eggleston is quoted in an information release sent out at 4:02 p.m. on August 17. “I am proud of the system we’ve built and confident it will continue to thrive.”
That system includes the hiring of dozens of professional firefighters and medics in the past five years with initial assistance from a series of grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that brought in $12.7 million for start-up costs that the county now has to assume.
This May, the Board of Supervisors adopted a budget that includes a four cent increase in the real estate tax rate. Eighty percent of that new revenue goes to keep those new hires on the force.
“Chief Eggleston has been a transformational leader for Albemarle County,” the release quotes County Executive Jeff Richardson. “His ability to strengthen Albemarle’s Fire Rescue system through partnerships and collaboration with volunteer companies, while also elevating the voice of the fire service on the national and international stage, is remarkable.”
Eggleston will retire on October 24, 2025 and a search for a successor will soon begin.
According to the FY2026 budget, there were 121.5 “full-time equivalents” in fire-rescue services in fiscal year 2020. The first FEMA grant was awarded in 2021, adding ten new employees. A second grant kicked in in FY2022 enabling another ten. A third grant was awarded effective FY2024 allowing another 30 to be hired. A fourth awarded in FY2025 allowed for another seven./
According to the information release, Eggleston oversaw construction of four new fire stations.
Eggleston has been a firefighter for more than 40 years and was named 2015 Career Fire Chief of the Year by the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
For more information on Eggleston and the recent history of some of these changes, take a look at these stories originally reported in Charlottesville Community Engagement.
- Albemarle welcomes new firefighters, December 20, 2022
- Albemarle Fire Rescue staff has begun staffing North Garden, November 25, 2022
- Albemarle receives $7.1 million in federal funding to hire 3`0 firefighters, September 7, 2023
- Chief Eggleston briefs Albemarle Board of Supervisors on strategic outlook for fire and rescue needs, January 7, 2024
- Albemarle’s police chief and fire chief explain why they need additional funds, March 21, 2025
Before you go: This article was first published in the August 19, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement and then posted here. The idea is to eventually move to one unified content management system and that time is going to come.
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