Mario H. Treviño retired on March 29 after serving for four years as Chief of the Bellevue fire Department and 36 years in the fire service.

The retirement comes after Treviño’s six-month absence from the department to undergo cancer treatment. Although the treatment has gone well, he has not made the full recovery needed to return to work.

“This has been a difficult medical challenge especially because it brought my retirement sooner than I expected,” said Treviño. “It is surreal in that after all these years I will not be putting on my uniform and going to work.”

Treviño began his career with the Seattle Fire Department in 1973 and after 24 years he rose to the rank of deputy fire chief. He then left Seattle and served as the Chief of the Las Vegas Fire Department from 1996 to 2001. He then moved on to serve as the Chief of the San Francisco Fire department until 2004.

Chief Treviño led the Bellevue Fire Department through many notable accomplishments including re-accreditation in 2008, relocation of fire headquarters to Bellevue City Hall and backing the addition of almost 30 staff members in response to downtown growth.

Most of the additional staff serve as first-response firefighters, effectively increasing the fire and medical aid service throughout the city.

The city has appointed Deputy Chief Mike Eisner to serve as the Interim Fire Chief. Eisner has served 35 years with the department, the past 17 years as deputy. The city is not yet ready to announce plans for a permanent fire chief appointment.