Chambana Sun

Today, City Manager Joan Walls announced the appointment of Tyler Funk as the Interim Fire Chief for the City of Champaign, effective July 14, 2025. Funk has an extensive history with the Champaign Fire Department, having served for 26 years and retiring as Deputy Fire Chief in 2023.

City Manager Walls expressed her appreciation for Funk's return from retirement to take on this interim role. "I want to extend my deepest gratitude and thank Tyler for agreeing to come out of retirement to serve as Champaign’s Interim Fire Chief," she said. "Tyler is a well-respected and trusted leader who is very familiar with the operations, services, and personnel at the Champaign Fire Department. I have the utmost confidence in his ability to lead the department and thank him for serving the City and our residents in this interim role."

Funk shared his sentiments regarding his new position: “I want to thank the City Manager for putting her trust in me to lead this amazing department during this important period of transition. I am grateful to have this opportunity to continue supporting the hard-working professionals of the Champaign Fire Department until a new Fire Chief is selected. I cherish the relationships that I built throughout my career with the City of Champaign, and the experiences I shared with the professionals at both the Fire Department and executive leadership at the City.”

Funk began his tenure with Champaign as a firefighter in 1997, advancing through various roles including Acting Fire Chief during COVID emergency response from 2020-2021 and serving as Fire Marshal from 2019-2023. He also contributed by teaching Incident Command System training within the department and was part of Illinois' MABAS deployable Hazmat team. Before joining Champaign's fire service, Funk worked as a Department of Defense firefighter with U.S. Army at Fort Bragg from 1992-1996.

He will replace current Chief Andy Quarnstrom upon his retirement on July 14, 2025. The search for a permanent fire chief will begin later this summer under Walls’ direction.