Career
Chief Edward "Loy" Senter Jr., a native of Virginia Beach, Virginia, entered fire and emergency medical services in 1978 at age 15 as a volunteer firefighter/rescue squad member with the Chesapeake Beach Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department. Upon graduating from Cox High School in 1981, he pursued a career as a firefighter. His first job was with the Norfolk International Airport Fire Department.
In 1982, he joined the Norfolk Fire-Rescue Department and was assigned to Engine 2 (Church Street), one of the city's busiest engine companies. In 1986, he was promoted to fire lieutenant and over the next seventeen years was assigned to various commands and held the ranks of fire captain, battalion chief, acting assistant chief/city-wide shift commander, deputy fire chief and acting fire chief. In 2003, he was appointed fire chief by City Manager Regina V.K. Williams. As Norfolk's Fire Chief, Chief Senter provided leadership and managerial direction to 533 personnel distributed among 14 fire-rescue stations and 6 offices, and administered a $38.1 million operating budget.
He served as chair of the Hampton Roads Fire Chiefs Association and was a member of the executive boards of the Tidewater Emergency Medical Services (TEMS) Council and the Tidewater Regional Fire Academy (TRFA). He also served on the Urban Areas Security Initiatives (UASI) Working Group of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC). In addition, he served on the U.S. Navy's Vision 2030 project team established by the Commander Naval Installations Command (CNIC) to shape the strategic direction for fire and emergency services at military bases worldwide.
Career as Chief
On November 17, 2008 Chief Senter was appointed Fire and EMS Chief for Chesterfield County by County Administrator James J. L. Stegmaier. He provides leadership and managerial direction to 485 career, 200 volunteer, and 49 civilian members distributed among 9 divisions and 29 fire and rescue stations, and administers a $49 million operating budget. He is responsible for ensuring quality emergency and community services for a 446 square mile area with a population of 316,000, to include:
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Arson and Environmental Crimes Investigations
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Emergency Management
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Emergency Medical
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Fire and Life Safety Education
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Fire Code Enforcement
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Fire Prevention
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Fire Protection
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Hazardous Materials
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Technical Rescue
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Terrorism Preparedness
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Water Rescue
He is a member of the county's leadership team and the emergency preparedness and capital improvement program (CIP) steering committees. He also serves as vice-president of the Richmond Metro Fire Chiefs Association and is a member of the Central Virginia Urban Area Security Initiative Working Group (UAWG) and the Fire Science Advisory Committee for J. Sergeant Reynolds Community College. In addition, he is the chair of the Program Planning Committee (PPC) of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC).
Education
Chief Senter's educational background includes an A.A.S degree in fire science from Tidewater Community College, a B.S. degree in fire administration from Hampton University, and a master's degree in public administration from Old Dominion University. He is a graduate of the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer Program, where he received the United States Fire Administration's Outstanding Research Award for three consecutive years. He is also a Commonwealth of Virginia certified Fire Official, Fire Officer III, and Emergency Medical Technician.