Sterling Fire chief Lavon Ritter retires after 26 years of service

Lavon Ritter’s retirement closed a long run at the center of Sterling’s public safety response, ending his 10 years as fire chief and 26 years with the Sterling Fire Department. The farewell marked more than a staffing change at City Hall or the fire station. It shifted leadership at an agency that answers calls across Sterling and a wide swath of Logan County.

Ritter’s firefighting career stretched even farther back. He completed 32 years in firefighting, beginning in wildland work with Larimer County Emergency Services and as a volunteer with the Poudre Fire Authority before joining Sterling Fire in 2000. Over the years, he moved through the ranks as Engineer, Captain, Tactical Medic and Academy Instructor before becoming the department’s eighth chief in July 2016.

The transition is already visible in the department’s public information. The City of Sterling now lists Cody Howell as chief, and the department says it operates with 22 career firefighters, nine part-time EMS staff and eight volunteer firefighters. That staffing mix is central to how Sterling Fire functions in a county where one department must cover both the city and a much larger rural response area.

The stakes are broader than one chief’s retirement. The city says Sterling Fire provides fire service across more than 600 square miles and EMS coverage for Logan County’s roughly 1,850-square-mile area. One profile put the department’s reach at the City of Sterling plus 680 square miles of rural territory, underscoring how much ground the agency must protect when seconds matter.

Ritter led the department through a period when fire protection and ambulance service became more tightly linked. In September 2011, Logan County and the City of Sterling formed a partnership to provide EMS through the fire department, and the city says the department added equipment and personnel to handle increased call volume and patient transport responsibilities. That expansion helped define Ritter’s tenure as much as any single promotion or badge number.

A retirement reception for Ritter was held Friday, May 22, and the Sterling City Council appointed Captain Cody Howell to replace him as chief. Ritter had previously said he hoped the department would someday add a second fire station, a reminder that the next chapter will still be shaped by growth, distance and response time. For Sterling and Logan County, the central question now is not whether the department changes, but how well it carries forward under new leadership.