Boone County Fire Protection chief to retire Feb. 1, interim chief named
Euphenie Andre
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Boone County Fire Protection District Chief Scott Olsen is retiring.
BCFPD announced in a Thursday press release the last day of Olsen’s career will be Feb. 1, 2026. Olsen submitted his letter of resignation to the district on Wednesday. Olsen said that after receiving his 40-year service award at the department banquet last Saturday, he decided it was time to hang it up.
“I had been talking with the board for actually several months about retiring next year and so it was just a matter of time,” Olsen said. “We finally came to the agreement that it’s probably time to do it here at the beginning of the year so that the next fire chief can kind of get a fresh start at the beginning of the year.”
Olsen has served in the role of chief for the past 17 years, according to a biography sent to ABC 17 News. Olsen has 48 years of fire service, EMS rescue and disaster response experience
He started his career with BCFPD as a volunteer firefighter at Station 1 in 1985 and was promoted to lieutenant the next year. He became the support services bureau chief in 1990 and later became battalion chief and assistant chief in 2005, the bio says.
“When I started there were no cellphones. There were no portable computers of any sort,” Olsen said. “The research that has gone into our profession to make it safer, the technology to help it become safer, the type of personal protective equipment we wear…”
Olsen is one of the original members of Missouri Task Force 1 and serves as the task force’s leader, program manager and sponsoring agency chief, the bio says. Olsen also serves as the planning section chief for the National US&R Response System Incident Support Team and was previously the team lead for SEMA’s Region F, according to the bio.
Olsen also served as the Chair of the Boone county local emergency planning committee for six years, the emergency management director to the Boone County Office of Emergency Management for four years, the chair of the School Emergency Preparedness Group and is currently Chairing the Boone County Public safety advisory committee’s active assailant policy subcommittee, according to the release. He also Chaired the FEMA US&R Search Information Standardization Working Group and currently Chairs the FEMA US&R sUAS Working Group, the bio says.
BCFPD Assistant Chief Doug Westhoff will be named the interim chief.
Olsen said Westhoff was the first to manage the rescue team, while he served as the overall coordinator for all training.
“I hired him actually on the fire district. I want to say roughly, I think it was in 2000, to be the program manager for the task force,” Olsen said. “He was the right choice to do that. He managed the team. He took the team to its first deployment in New York for the World Trade Center attacks and then has been growing with the team ever since.”
Olsen said he and Westhoff have followed similar career paths over the years. He added Westhoff brings strong expertise in rescue and technical rescue.
“I would say we’re closely aligned philosophically about the fire district and with what the fire district means to the community and you know, how to take care of the volunteer firefighter in our department,” Olsen said.
Westhoff began his service career in 1976 at just 14 years old through the junior firefighter program. He became a firefighter at 18 and continued serving at Station 1.
“I moved through the ranks there as a lieutenant and then a captain and station commander at Station 1,” Westhoff said.
He was hired in 2000 as the Task Force program manager, a role he served in for 15 years. During that time, he was promoted to assistant chief and later to deputy chief in 2022.
“I love the people and I love the work. It’s never the same thing twice,” Westhoff said.
With decades of experience behind him, Westhoff said he’s focused on leading the department and preparing the next chief for success.
“I’m a gentle man who’s 63 years old. I’m not going to be here forever. My intention is to take this organization and transition to not only my leadership, but the chief that will follow me,” he said.
The position holds special meaning for Westhoff, his father served as the district’s very first fire chief. He said stepping into the role feels like continuing a family legacy.
Westhoff is already planning for the department’s future.
“We need to bolster some of the staff positions here so we have a bit more depth for some of the changes, personnel changes that may occur in the future,” he said.
Olsen leaves the department earning just under $190,000 a year, more than a $75,000 increase from when he became fire chief in 2009. Westhoff told ABC 17 News that the board has not yet determined what his salary will be when he takes over next year.
Olsen said that when this chapter ends, he’s looking forward to slowing down and spending more time with his family but he made it clear the community will still see him around.
Once Feb. 1 arrives, Olsen said the reality of retirement will truly set in.
“Oh I will be sad. I mean, I have a lot of friends here, right? I have the people I work here in office. Well, I know all the volunteers in the fire district. I know a lot of their family members. I’ve been with people here for a long, long time,” he said.
He expressed gratitude and humility toward the volunteers and everyone in the department who supported him throughout his career.
“I’m not anything special here. I’ll be quite honest with you,” Olsen said. “You are asking people to volunteer and step away from their job, you know baseball game from with their child to go help our neighbor, and that’s very laudable attribute for a person.”