GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Just over 30 applicants are looking to become the next Green Bay Fire Chief.

The city has been advertising the position for several weeks and also did some direct recruiting.  HR Operations Manager Melanie Falk says they sent out letters to 60 other fire chiefs in the mid-west in cities with a population of over 50,000. The Police and Fire Commission is starting to screen the applicants.  At their meeting next month, commission members will decide on whom to interview.  Back in August, Robert Goplin stepped down as fire chief after only seven months on the job. 

Asst. Fire Chief Mike Nieft, who has applied for the position, has been serving as interim chief since then. 

The commission waited to fill the fire chief position until after a new police chief was hired. 

Also during that time, Mayor Jim Schmitt also commissioned a study on the possibly of moving towards a public safety model, that would combine some aspects of both police and fire departments under one director. 

However,  that report recommended aaginst a public safety department.