Representing the LaCoste area

Career

Rodney Hitzfelder was born in San Antonio and has lived his entire life near La Coste. In his early years he farmed and ranched.  He entered the San Antonio Fire Department in 1979, and retired in December of 2011 as a Deputy Chief.  During his 32 year career, he served in, or supervised, every division, section and office within the Fire Department.  The last five years of his career as the Chief of Administration.  Prior to that he served as the Chief of Operations managing the Firefighting, Training, Arson and the Logistics/Services Divisions.  He was the Unified Commander of the Hurricane Katrina Evacuee Relief Effort in 2005 and the Incident Commander during the devastating flood of 2002.  In 2004 he was appointed by the Mayor as the Emergency Management Coordinator for the City of San Antonio.

As an Assistant Chief he supervised firefighting operations and was a firefighting shift commander.  Prior to this he served as the Special Projects Officer where he established the Public Information Office and was the Departments first PIO.  He created the Facilities Maintenance Program which addressed critical needs in fire stations.  He was appointed the team leader for the 1994 Fire Department Master Plan Program which created the blueprint for many of the improvements enjoyed by firefighters and citizens today, addressing fire station locations, new construction, apparatus replacement schedules, safety, staffing and manning, and much more.

Professional Memberships and Community Involvement

Through the years he also assisted in the development of state and nationwide emergency response teams, such as the Texas Task Force 1 Urban Search & Rescue Advisory Board and the Governor’s Regional Water Strike Team Working Group, which created our current statewide water rescue response system.

Education

Chief Hitzfelder has a Masters of Public Administration degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Southwest Texas State University.

Personal

Since his retirement he has enjoyed traveling, working on his farm, developing real estate and time on Medina Lake.  He and his wife Jennifer also enjoy their four children and their families. 

Additional Pursuits

In 2020 he, along with his son Andrew (also a San Antonio Firefighter) founded Sago Internet, a locally owned and family operated Wireless Internet Service Provider, covering the eastern half of Medina County, and expanding rapidly.