Kurt Christofel has been leading the Mt. Lebanon Fire Department since May 2025, bringing new energy and vision to the team. The Lebo Beat recently had the opportunity to interview Chief Christofel, offering readers a closer look at his leadership, priorities, and the challenges and triumphs of serving the community. Don’t miss this inside perspective on the man at the helm of Mt. Lebanon’s fire department.

Q: Where did you grow up, and at what age did you realize that you wanted to go into the fire service?

I grew up in Jefferson Hills, where my parents still live, along with my sister and her family. My father was a volunteer firefighter, though he retired before I was old enough to join. My grandparents owned a farm, and I spent nearly every weekend and summer there, learning the value of hard work and responsibility at an early age.

During the 1991 Stanley Cup playoffs, my family was in the basement with a fire going when, suddenly, it sounded like a jet engine. We were experiencing a chimney fire. A passerby noticed the situation and called the fire department. Watching the firefighters respond and manage the incident was my first real exposure to fire service operations. I was immediately hooked.

As soon as I was eligible, I joined the fire service and became a student of the profession. I have never stopped learning and continue to take classes and seek opportunities to better myself and serve my community.

Q: You joined Mt. Lebanon in 2011 but had so much experience before that. Please tell us about your experience before coming to Mt. Lebanon.

From those humble beginnings in 1991, I joined the Pleasant Hills Fire Company, which was a strong proponent of training and professional development. They encouraged me to attend any training I was willing to take, and I continued to grow steadily as a firefighter.

In 2003, I became a Pennsylvania state fire instructor and began teaching classes. This role allowed me to build relationships with other instructors and learn from their experiences, contributing significantly to my professional growth. Teaching others challenged me to deepen my own knowledge and sharpen my skills, marking a period of tremendous development in my fire service career.

Around 2008, I became the volunteer chief of the Jefferson Hills Fire-Rescue Department, the community where I lived. In addition to my volunteer service, I worked as a contractor for the Department of Energy. During that time, I gained valuable leadership insights from the management team that shaped my approach to leadership and accountability.

One of the most important values I carry from that experience is, “Acceptance is the standard.” To me, this means that if I choose to walk past something that is not absolutely correct, I am accepting it as the new standard. This philosophy continually challenges me to hold myself and others to a higher level of accountability and excellence, pushing me to be a better firefighter, fire chief and human being.

Q: What drew you to want to work for Mt. Lebanon? You had been with an all-volunteer company in Jefferson Hills. What was it like to come to a combination department?

There were three primary reasons my family and I began looking at the Mt. Lebanon Fire Department. First, while I was comfortable in my career as a government contractor, the work environment became increasingly unstable due to political shifts. This instability led my wife and me to reevaluate our long-term situation and career direction.

Second, although we were living in Jefferson Hills at the time, my wife had previously served as a volunteer firefighter with Mt. Lebanon before we met, and we both wanted to return to the area. My stepson also had many friends in Mt. Lebanon, where he grew up, making the community a natural fit for our family.

The third reason was the Mt. Lebanon Fire Department’s long-standing reputation for producing exceptional firefighters. In every class I taught that included a Mt. Lebanon firefighter, that individual consistently stood out among peers. They were driven, hardworking and personable. I already knew most of the career staff through my work as an instructor, as many of them were instructors themselves, and strong professional relationships were already established.

Transitioning to a combination department from an all-volunteer organization was a breath of fresh air. In Mt. Lebanon, the career staff manages much of the administrative workload that can overwhelm volunteer departments, including fire prevention, community risk reduction, outreach, training and vehicle maintenance. This structure allows volunteers to focus on what matters most to them — serving the community operationally — rather than being burdened by tasks that simply need to be done.

Q: You’re in your first year as Mt. Lebanon’s fire chief. You took over from Chief Nick Sohyda, who had been chief for about 18 years. He was the chief when you joined the company. What are some things you learned from him that helped you rise to chief and take the reins after his retirement?

I owe a great deal to Chief Sohyda. As I mentioned earlier in the interview, becoming a fire instructor significantly expanded my professional network, and Chief Sohyda was one of the instructors I connected with early on. While we initially taught a few classes together, our collaboration deepened about seven years ago when the Pennsylvania State Fire Academy restructured a program focused on leadership and incident command strategies.

Over the past seven years, I have had the opportunity to co-present this course with him, and there has not been a single class from which I have not taken away a valuable lesson. Working alongside Chief Sohyda reinforced an important leadership principle for me: Leadership is fundamentally about relationships. If you want to accomplish meaningful, large-scale goals, you cannot do it alone. Strong relationships are what make those accomplishments possible.

Q: Chief Sohyda had the vision for the Fire Training Center, located at the Public Works yard, which opened in 2025. How will this structure help your firefighters in their training?

The training facility represents an incredible achievement for both the fire department and the municipality. For many years, the department developed innovative ways to train within the station or in donated homes scheduled for demolition. We installed mock windows in apparatus bays, built pallet-based house layouts and constructed temporary props that required significant time to assemble and dismantle after each use.

The new training facility allows us to keep these props permanently in place, enabling crews to simply drive to the site and train efficiently. Another major benefit is reduced travel time. Before the facility was built, the closest comparable sites were in Washington County or North Park, each requiring about an hour of travel in each direction. That travel time significantly reduced the amount of actual training and was not an efficient use of our volunteer firefighters’ time.

In addition, the facility will be available for use by surrounding communities. This demonstrates Mt. Lebanon’s strong commitment to public safety and positions the department as a regional leader in fire service training and service delivery.

Q: Many fire departments nationwide are struggling with manpower and funding. Does Mt. Lebanon face either of these challenges?

Fortunately, municipal leadership in Mt. Lebanon recognizes the value of public safety. As a result, the fire department is funded directly by the municipality. While many departments struggle to raise operating funds through bingo, chicken barbecues or hoagie sales, our volunteers are able to dedicate their time to training, recruitment and community engagement rather than fundraising.

Fire department leadership works diligently to ensure efficient and responsible use of the annual budget. As a result, recruitment initiatives have placed the department in an exceptionally strong position. In fact, we are approaching capacity and would need to add additional gear lockers and other critical resources to accommodate a significant increase in volunteers.

One of our most successful recruitment tools has been the annual Citizens Fire Academy. Over the past two years alone, we have brought on approximately 12 new firefighters through this program. At a time when volunteer recruitment is a nationwide challenge,
Mt. Lebanon has been able to grow and sustain its ranks. Many departments would welcome the opportunity to face the “problem” of having more qualified volunteers than available space.

Perhaps the greatest achievement of Mt. Lebanon’s recruitment efforts is the quality and diversity of the people we attract, both career and volunteer. Our members include business professionals, scientists, skilled tradespeople, attorneys, computer programmers and engineers. This range of backgrounds strengthens our ability to serve the community effectively.

Q: What are some of your leadership philosophies? Are there policies or procedures you implemented soon after becoming chief?

If I were to choose one leadership philosophy, it would be servant leadership. I believe everything in an organization revolves around relationships. My role is to ensure that members of the fire department have the tools, resources and support they need to be successful.

Every member of the Mt. Lebanon Fire Department adds value to the organization and deserves my utmost respect. My responsibility is to remove obstacles, empower personnel and help them reach their fullest potential. Servant leadership means putting the needs of the organization and its members first so they can perform at the highest level for the community we serve.

At the same time, I strongly believe in accountability. I must hold every member accountable for actions and performance, while creating an environment where members can hold each other — and me — accountable. Accountability and trust must go hand in hand.

One of my first priorities was meeting individually with each firefighter to better understand what we do well, where we can improve and how I can help them achieve personal and professional goals. Those conversations helped build trust, strengthen relationships and reinforce a shared commitment to continuous improvement.

Over the past year, the fire department has been developing its strategic plan, which is updated every five years. This plan establishes the vision for the department and serves as the foundation for annual goals and objectives.

I believe this process is vitally important because it represents a shared vision, not the direction of a single individual. It reflects the collective input, experience and commitment of members and stakeholders.

Q: Any final thoughts to share with the Lebo community?

I am grateful to every member of the fire department and to all of our stakeholders, including the community we proudly serve. Our community is a model, not only locally but nationally, for the exceptional work taking place in local government, schools, community organizations and the municipality as a whole. I am humbled to be part of such a dedicated and collaborative team.