This week, the Park City Fire District introduced its new chief.

Paul Hewitt, a retired Salt Lake City Fire Department battalion chief, will take over for retired chief Kelly Gee. Hewitt is currently fire chief for the Golden Valley Fire District in Arizona.

Thursday’s announcement ended a job search that began a few months ago.

“We just wanted to get the right person and fortunately we found him We’re real excited for Paul to join us,” said Kent Cashel, chairman of the administrative control board for the Park City Fire District. “What was important was that we find someone who fit well both with the community and the department. I think in the end the decision was clear. But it just took a lot of work to get there.”

Board members received several applications from within the ranks of the Park City Fire District.

“Always you look internally It carries weight but it wasn’t the ultimate decision point,” Cashel said in a telephone interview. “We went external to find the best person for the job. Part of that is skill set and experience and part of that is personality and fit It really doesn’t reflect in any way on the board’s feeling about the staff that serve the district.”

Hewitt, who begins his new position Feb. 18, called the fire chief post in Park City his “dream job.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered where I was at in my career,” Hewitt said in a telephone interview Friday. “If that position ever opened up, no matter where I was in my career, I was going to apply for it.”

Hewitt is 48 years old. He first moved to Utah when he was 15.

“A lot of my leisure time was spent up in Park City, running, hiking, boating,” Hewitt said. “Utah is home for me.”

The new chief has already set some goals for the district.

“We’re going to be developing a strategic plan,” Hewitt said. “Everybody in the fire department, from the ground level up will have a hand in that.”

Park City firefighters cover an area on the West Side of Summit County that is roughly 110 square miles, he said.

The district contains more than 80 percent of the county’s population.

“Park City has some unique hazards,” Hewitt explained.

Some neighborhoods are wooded with houses surrounded by trees.

“There are also areas that are hard to access,” Hewitt said.

Hewitt currently leads a department that is about half the size of the Park City Fire District. He is already requesting feedback from firefighters in Park City.

“One of the chiefs said that he would like to see us work a little harder on community education programs,” Hewitt said.

When he takes over next month Hewitt said he has no plans to make staffing changes at the district.

“That department is loaded with talent, right from the line firefighters up through the assistant chiefs,” Hewitt said. “I think that department is fabulous.”

Hewitt will move to Park City with Heidi, his wife, and his 6-year-old daughter Haylie.