Wood River City Council Meeting
WOOD RIVER – The Wood River Fire Department is now being lead by a longtime department member and lifelong city resident.
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Deputy Chief Nate Kamp was promoted to chief of the Wood River Fire Department at the July 6, 2026 Wood River City Council meeting.
“We are so lucky to have him step into the spot that became vacant,” Mayor Tom Stalcup said of Kamp. “We’re looking forward to his future with the city.”
This comes just under three weeks after former Fire Chief Wade Stahlhut was honored for his 21 years of service to the department upon his retirement. Stalhut said at the time he was “very confident that under new leadership, we’re going to continue the success of the department.”
Kamp thanked the mayor and city officials for their “trust and confidence” in him and his leadership. He also thanked his wife, Ashley, and children – Kendall, Karsyn, and Knox – for their support even through the “unique stressors” of a firefighting career.
“This position represents for me a career-long goal,” Kamp said. “I cannot tell you how blessed I feel to hold the rank of chief for the department I love and the city that I love, representing the best group of firefighters in Madison County.”
In addition to thanking his current fellow department members, Kamp also expressed sincere gratitude for the generations of chiefs and firefighters that came before him and built the department’s reputation and trust.
“It’s an honor to serve in this role, and I promise you that providing the best service to to our residents and our visitors – and the well-being and safety of everybody in my department – is what motivates me and gets me out of bed every morning,” Kamp added.
The department congratulated Kamp in a social media announcement the following day. In addition to being a lifelong Wood River resident and East Alton-Wood River High School graduate, the department noted Kamp has been a member of the WRFD since 2002 and officially began his firefighting career 21 years ago in 2005.
A full recording of the July 6, 2026 Wood River City Council meeting is available at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.
