Names in the News: December 26, 2021

PAUL BABCOCK retired as the chief of the Santa Fe (NM) Fire Department (SFFD) on December 24 after 31 years with the department. Babcock joined the SFFD in 1990 and was named chief in 2018. In addition to chief, he also served as the department’s assistant fire chief of operations, an emergency medical technician, an engineer, a lieutenant, and a battalion chief. During his years as chief, Babcock expanded the SFFD’s Emergency Medical Services Division and helped create the city’s Alternative Response Unit. Assistant Chief Brian Moya, who joined the SFFD in 2002, will succeed Babcock.

RICH KINDELAN will become the new chief of the Scarborough (ME) Fire Department and Emergency Management Agency in January 2022. He will succeed Michael Thurlow, who will retire after 20 years in the top spot. Kindelan began his career in 1988 as a volunteer firefighter while in high school in Connecticut. After graduation, Kindelan enlisted in the U.S. Air Force as a fire protection specialist, later working with Brunswick Naval Air Station as well as Maine fire departments in Gardiner, Yarmouth, and Old Orchard Beach. Kindelan joined Scarborough in 2018 and moves into the chief’s position from the rank of deputy chief.

JON CAMPBELL took over as the new chief of the Helena (MT) Fire Department (HFD) on December 6. He had previously been serving as the HFD’s interim chief following previous chief Ken Wood’s retirement in September. Campbell joined the HFD in October 2020 as its assistant chief of training. He began his fire career as a volunteer with Missoula (MT) Rural Fire in 1999. After working as a paramedic in North Carolina, Campbell joined the Kalispell (MT) Fire Department as a firefighter/paramedic, where he would rise to the rank of assistant chief of operations.

MICHAEL KIMBLE was appointed as the new chief of the Baton Rouge (LA) Fire Department (BRFD). Kimble has worked as a first responder in East Baton Rouge since 2001, serving with both the BRFD and the Zachary Fire Department as a firefighter, investigator, and volunteer deputy chief. He’s also worked as a sheriff’s deputy for the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office and is a member of USAR Task Force 2, which deploys to disasters throughout the country. Most recently, Kimble served as incident commander for the federally sponsored COVID-19 vaccination site in Baton Rouge.

KENNETH JACKS was announced as the next chief of Denison (TX) Fire Rescue (DFR) after serving the previous two months as its interim chief. Jacks is a 35-year fire service veteran, spending 27 of those years with the Richardson (TX) Fire Department and the other five as the chief of the New Braunfels (TX) Fire Department, from where he retired to join DFR. Jacks will officially take command of the DFR in January 2022.