Names in the News: April 17, 2022

NEIL FOLEY was sworn in as the new chief of the Plymouth (MA) Fire Department (PFD) on April 12. He replaces previous PFD chief G. Edward Bradley, who retired. Foley is a 21-year fire service veteran who began his career in 2001 with the Hingham (MA) Fire Department (HFD), where he rose through the ranks to the position of lieutenant. Prior to joining the fire service, he served in the Massachusetts Army National Guard. Foley joined the PFD in 2006 and was promoted to lieutenant in 2011, captain in 2016, and deputy chief of administration in 2019. 

CLARENCE REESE was selected as the next chief of the Shreveport (LA) Fire Department (SFD) by Mayor Adrian Perkins; his confirmation is pending approval by the city council. Reese is a nearly 20-year SFD veteran who started his career there as a firefighter/EMT. He is now serving as the department’s administrative assistant to the chief. Reese has also been a public information officer for the SFD for the past four years. He is a certified law enforcement officer, a reserve deputy with the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, and a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs/Firefighters and the National Informational Officers Association.

KELLY ELLIOTT took over as the new chief of the Tupelo (MS) Fire Department (TFD). He replaces previous TFD chief Thomas Walker, who retired in 2021. Elliott began his fire service career in the United States Air Force. He then moved on to the TFD in the mid-1990s. Elliott then left the TFD in 1998 for an instructor’s position at the fire academy in Pearl, Mississippi. Before returning to Tupelo, he served as the federal fire chief for the Mississippi Air National Guard’s 172nd Airlift Wing.

MICHAEL THOMAS was sworn in as the new chief of the DeKalb (IL) Fire Department (DFD) on April 11. He is a 27-year DFD veteran. Since becoming a DeKalb firefighter/paramedic in 1995, Thomas has climbed the ranks of the department, being promoted to lieutenant in 2009, to captain in 2016, to battalion chief in 2019, and then finally to acting chief in November 2021.  

CHAD COOK was promoted to the rank of deputy chief with the Ventura County (CA) Fire Department (VCFD). He is a 31-year member and second-generation firefighter with the VCFD. Cook, who became a wildland firefighter in Los Angeles after graduating from high school, was previously serving as the VCFD assistant chief of emergency operations, where he oversaw all field operations and the Fire Communications Center. He has served on the National Incident Management Team and was in charge of some of the largest wildfires in the state, including the Bobcat Fire in 2020 and the Dixie Fire in 2021.