Tyler Funk appointed as Champaign Fire Department’s interim fire chief

Champaign City Manager Joan Walls announced the appointment of Tyler Funk to serve as the city's Interim Fire Chief starting July 14.

By Zeno Jo June 23, 2025 2:14 pm

ContributedChampaign Fire DepartmentFunk had previously worked at the Champaign Fire Department (CFD) for 26 years, rising to the rank of deputy fire chief before retiring in July 2023.

CHAMPAIGN, IL (Chambana Today) – Champaign City Manager Joan Walls announced the appointment of Tyler Funk to serve as the city’s Interim Fire Chief starting July 14.

Funk had previously worked at the Champaign Fire Department (CFD) for 26 years, rising to the rank of deputy fire chief before retiring in July 2023.

“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,” said Champaign City Manager Joan Walls. “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 began his career as a firefighter with CFD in 1997, and worked his way up through the ranks during his 26-year career. He also served as acting fire chief during Champaign’s COVID emergency response in 2020-21, and as the fire marshal from 2019-23. Funk also taught Incident Command System training at the department for many years, and was a member of the State of Illinois’ MABA deployable hazmat team. Before joining CFD, Funk was a Department of Defense firefighter with the U.S. Army at Fort Bragg, North Carolina from 1992-96.

“I want to thank the City Manager for putting her trust in me to lead this amazing department during this important period of transition,” Funk said. “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 shlared with the professionals at both the fire department and executive leadership at the city.”

Funk will succeed current chief Andy Quarnstrom, who is retiring on July 14, 2025. A press release from the city shared that Walls will conduct a recruitment to find a new fire chief starting later this summer.