Names in the News: May 1, 2022

GARY BERNARD will become the new chief of the Peoria (AZ) Fire-Medical Department (PFMD), pending city council approval on May 3. He will replace previous PFMD chief Bobby Ruiz, who retired on December 31, 2021. Bernard is a 31-year PFMD veteran, spending the past seven years as its deputy fire-medical chief. Since 1991, he has worked his way up the ranks to become a paramedic, an engineer, a captain, a recruit training officer, a wildland coordinator, and a battalion chief. Bernard has received numerous service awards, including the Aces of Hearts Award from the Arizona Emergency Medical Systems.

BENJAMIN M. RUPPERT was named the new chief of Hopewell (VA) Fire & Rescue (HFR). Ruppert is a 23-year veteran of emergency management and medical services and had been serving as HFR’s interim chief since November 2021. He has served as chair of the Emergency Management Alliance of Central Virginia and is on the board of the Virginia Emergency Management Association. Since 2006, he has served as coordinator of the city’s Local Emergency Planning Committee and lead coordinator for its COVID-19 Emergency Response Team. Ruppert is also a certified instructor for FEMA in the National Emergency Management Basic Academy.

JOHN SELBERG was appointed as the new chief of Collierville (TN) Fire & Rescue (CFR) on April 25. He will take over the position on July 1, when current CFR Chief Buddy Billings officially retires after serving the department for more than 40 years. Selberg has served as chief of the Germantown (TN) Fire Department (GFD) since August 2011, where he began his fire service career in 1980. He climbed the ranks in that department, starting as a firefighter, then moving on to becoming a lieutenant; a battalion chief; a fire marshal; and, lastly, an assistant chief in 1990 before becoming chief.

MICHAEL THOMSON will take over as the new chief of Carrollton (TX) Fire Rescue (CFR) on May 16. He replaces previous CFR Chief Gregg Salmi, who retired in January. Thomson is a 24-year fire service veteran who began his career in British Columbia, Canada, as a volunteer firefighter and medical first responder. He has held leadership roles in the Farmers Branch (FBFD) and Addison (TX) Fire Departments and spent the past three years as chief and emergency management coordinator for the Highland Village (TX) Fire Department (HVFD). He was chosen as Fire Officer of the Year by the FBFD in 2015 and the HVFD in 2020. 

JIM WISHLOVE will take over as the new chief of Richmond (British Columbia, Canada) Fire-Rescue (RFR) on May 1. He will replace outgoing RFR Chief Tim Wilkinson, who recently announced his retirement. Wishlove joined RFR in 1990 after serving as a volunteer firefighter. Since then, he has served in the department as a firefighter, a dispatcher, and an instructor before his promotion to deputy chief in 2009. In 2012, Wishlove was hired as deputy chief for the city of New Westminster, where he worked for six years before returning to RFR in 2018 as its deputy chief of operations.