Harry E. Diezel

Editorial Summary

(From the City of Virginia Beach website) Councilmember Diezel was appointed Dec. 17, 2002, as the Kempsville District #2 representative. He was the city's fire chief for 23 years before retiring in September 1997. During that time, the department mirrored Virginia Beach's rapid growth, and the Office of Emergency Services was merged into the Fire Department. The chief served on the city's Executive Management Leadership Team, where he was the Public Safety Team liaison, and on the Safe Community Team. The city's representative in the International Fire Chiefs Association, Diezel served two gubernatorial terms as a member of the State Technical Review Board. He was also a founding board member of the International Fire Code Institute. At the national level, Diezel was the general manager for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Disaster Response Team, VA TF-2. This 180-person team is a regional effort headquartered in Virginia Beach that has responded to several events, including the Oklahoma City bombing.