'He served the community': Johnstown fire chief Statler set to retire after 4 decades in emergency services

Yahoo

26-05-2025

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – As Robert Statler progressed through the Johnstown Fire Department ranks – from firefighter to driver to captain to training officer to assistant chief and ultimately to chief – he always believed that if he had done his job right and led by example, then he had already properly trained the person who was replacing him.
Now, as his time with the JFD is coming to an end, Statler jokingly said, 'Nobody trained me for retirement, though.'
Statler's last working day is scheduled to be Friday, after 29 years with the department. He has been the chief since 2019.
'It just got to the point when, as time went along, I found myself doing other things I've been wanting to do – stuff outside work – more than I wanted to be here,' Statler said in an interview at his office. 'It was kind of a decent time. I figured I'd get out before I drive myself crazy.'
Statler, 59, also spent nine years as a professional paramedic before joining the JFD.
'Forty years in emergency services kind of wears on you,' Statler said. 'I want to relax for a little bit and not have to worry about too much of anything.'
Johnstown Fire Department Chief Robert Statler
Johnstown Fire Department Chief Robert Statler talks about his decision to retire during an interview in his office on Wednesday, May 21, 2025.
Regarding what is next, Statler said he has a summer 'honey-do list,' but otherwise said he has 'no real plans other than relaxing for a while.'
'Kinda in the blood'
Statler, from Paint Borough, started volunteer firefighting as a young man with the Windber Fire Department. He is a fourth-generation member of that department, for which his grandfather served as chief for almost two decades.
Statler's original helmet and a picture of the Windber firefighters from 1917 still hung on his office wall during his final days with the JFD.
Capt. Anthony Henry and Chief Robert Statler
Johnstown Fire Department Capt. Anthony Henry and Chief Robert Statler, right, confer at the site of a truck accident at the Stone Bridge in Johnstown on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022.
He said being a fireman is 'kinda in the blood.'
'This is a job that I've always wanted to do, I've always enjoyed,' Statler said.
In retirement, he plans to still volunteer with Windber, while also being in charge of the Cambria County Swift Water Rescue Team, participating in the Pittsburgh-based Pennsylvania Urban Search & Rescue team and teaching through Bucks County Community College.
'You're the middle man'
Statler has overseen a department with 29 full-time and six part-time firefighters who respond to about 3,000 calls per year. The department deals with numerous types of incidents – fires, traffic accidents, overdoses, medical issues and storm-related matters – while also being involved in codes enforcement.
He acquired grant funding to purchase equipment, briefly served as co-city manager, acted as the city's emergency director and served as a liaison between the firefighters and governmental officials.
'As fire chief, I kind of take it that I'm the middle man between City Hall and my guys,' Statler said. 'I've got to carry out the work that City Hall wants me to carry out and get my guys to kind of want to do that job. You're the middle man to some extent.
'I think it makes it a little bit easier for me – you can talk to my guys – but we work as more of a group. I don't necessarily treat anybody as my minor.'
Johnstown City Manager Art Martynuska, a city firefighter from 1990 to 2010, described Statler as 'a great firefighter.'
'He was a go-getter, and aggressive, educated, did very well on the fire ground. … Obviously, he served the community extremely well and is a helluva good guy,' Martynuska said.
Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro Tours Johnstown Public Safety Building
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (center) along with his wife Lori (left) and State Rep. Frank Burns (right), D-East Taylor, talk with Johnstown Fire Department Chief Robert Statler during a tour of the city's public safety building on Washington Street in downtown Johnstown on Wednesday, September 11, 2024.
International Association of Fire Fighters Local 463 President Eric Miller described Statler as being 'great' for the department.
'He's always been there for everybody,' said Miller, who was trained by Statler.
'A new department'
Martynuska is now charged with selecting a new chief. The position has ben advertised among the department's four assistant chiefs – Jim McCann, Randy Novosel, Ed 'Mick' Miller and Jim Boyle.
When asked if he would like the next chief to come from in-house, Martynuska said, 'That seems to work out very well. I would like to do that without a doubt. I'd like to have an interim in there right before the end of (Statler's) tenure so we can have some transition there.'
No matter who is selected to become Johnstown's 20th fire chief, Miller said, 'It's going to be a new department' with Statler's departure.
Conemaugh Township EMS & Northern E.M.S Merger
Northern E.M.S. in Windber board member and Johnstown Fire Department Chief Robert Statler talks about the merger of the two medical transport services at Conemaugh Township EMS facility on Tire Hill Road on Wednesday, October 16, 2024.
Statler is also leaving with a bit of advice for his successor.
'Just treat everybody fair and move forward; don't try to continue what I'm doing,' Statler said. 'Do what you feel needs done and just try to progress the department.'