While city officials conduct what they describe as a “nationwide search” for a replacement for retiring Fire Chief Mark Outlaw, they announced on Friday that they had found a local man to serve in the open position on an interim basis.

Louis “Ed” Taylor has been appointed to the post at the head of the Suffolk Department of Fire and Rescue, according to an announcement by City Manager Selena Cuffee-Glenn’s office on Friday.

Taylor is a veteran of Suffolk Fire and Rescue. He joined the City of Nansemond Fire Department in 1973 and became a member of the Suffolk Fire Department when Nansemond merged with Suffolk in 1974.

He has served as deputy fire chief since 2002.

The press release stated Cuffee-Glenn “is confident that Taylor’s experience will provide the bridge that the department needs as the city searches for someone to fill the position permanently.”

Taylor and his wife Toni have three children, Billy, Angie and Dianna.

Outlaw announced his retirement, effective April 1, at the beginning of the month. He is a 34-year veteran of the fire department and was appointed chief in 1994. At the time, he was the youngest man to be appointed to lead a municipal fire department in Virginia.