Austin Fire Chief Mickey Healey now has the command structure he’s wanted for more than a year.

City Council members approved the promotion of two full-time firefighters to commanders Monday night at a meeting. Terry Peterson and Tom Schulte will be joining Brian Lovik as the department’s commanders.

The move is one Healey has wanted to make since he began working as Austin’s fire chief more than a year ago.

Peterson and Schulte had to go through a five-step promotional process to secure themselves the two open posts.

After the council unanimously approved the promotions, Mayor Tom Stiehm joked to Healey that it was, “Long overdue, right?”

Healey previously said communication, teamwork and efficiency would increase if he had three commanders as opposed to one. When a shift doesn’t have a supervisor, it can lead to confusion at emergency scenes and a slower response time, he said. Also, miscommunication would be less likely if Healey had one person from each shift reporting to him, he said.