After 35 years as a firefighter in the City of Turlock, Turlock Fire Chief Tim Lohman has announced that he will be moving on to new ventures.

Lohman announced Wednesday that effective Aug. 15 he will be stepping down as Fire Chief for the Turlock Fire Department.

“I have been very fortunate to achieve all of my career aspirations in the fire service, and after 35 years of working for the fire department I felt it was time to move on and try something else,” Lohman told TurlockCityNews.com on Wednesday.

Chief Lohman started his fire service career as a volunteer firefighter with the City of Turlock on July 1, 1980. He was hired as a full-time firefighter on Dec. 1, 1983. During his career, he has served as Fire Engineer, Fire Captain, Battalion Chief, Division Chief of Training, Division Chief of Operations, and for the last 4 ½ years as Fire Chief.

Lohman took over as interim Fire Chief on July 1, 2010 when Chief Mark Langley retired. He was then appointed Fire Chief on March 1, 2011 by City Manager Roy Wasden.

“In addition to firefighting I have also been farming almonds since 1989, and I wanted to try a second career in agriculture,” said Lohman.

On Aug. 17, Lohman will be taking over as the Manager for the Northern Merced Hulling Association (NMHA) for Don Harcksen, who plans to retire in April 2016, said Lohman.

“I have had the opportunity to work with and learn from some great people during my time with Turlock, and I will take those lessons with me as I start a new job,” said Lohman.

The City of Turlock has begun an active search to recruit the next Fire Chief.