A familiar face will be joining the City of Wheeling’s Building and Planning Department as retiring Fire Chief Larry Helms has been selected as the new building code official.

Helms’ final day as fire chief is Friday, June 18 and he will begin his new role on Monday, June 21.

Director of Building and Planning Tom Connelly said Helms will be a great addition to his team.

“I'm looking forward to Larry Helms transitioning to his new role as the Building Code Official. His background, experience, professionalism and knowledge leading the fire department will be a great benefit to the Building and Planning Department and our efforts to oversee the safety and quality of the built environment in the city,” he said. “Larry has already taken the training to become the city's flood plain manager and will begin preparing for the necessary certification exams to become an International Code Council (ICC)  Building Code Official.”

Helms said he is pleased to be able to continue working for the Friendly City.

“It is with mixed emotions that I will be ending my 35-year career in the fire service, serving the citizens of Wheeling as Fire Chief for the last 15 years, but am very excited to be continuing my service to the public as the City of Wheeling’s code official. I will miss the firefighters, but will be developing new relationships with city staff and administration.”

Helms is a graduate of Bellaire High School and the Ohio Diesel Technical Institute in Cleveland.