The chief of the Suffolk Department of Fire and Rescue has announced his retirement effective April 1.

Chief Mark Outlaw is a 34-year veteran of the Suffolk Fire Department. He joined the city in 1977 as a firefighter and progressed through the ranks to lieutenant, captain and fire chief.

At his appointment as fire chief in January 1994, he was the youngest fire chief appointed in Virginia.

“Finding a replacement for Chief Outlaw will be difficult,” City Manager Selena Cuffee-Glenn said in a press release Thursday. “Mark’s many years of dedicated service to the Suffolk community has left a public safety legacy of which he can be very proud.”

A search for his successor will begin immediately, according to the press release.