Names in the News: July 24, 2022

FERNANDO GRAY was hired as the new chief of Las Vegas (NV) Fire & Rescue (LVFR) on July 20. Gray has 21 years of experience as a firefighter and paramedic in his hometown of Dallas, Texas, where he served with Dallas Fire-Rescue as an engineer, a lieutenant, and a budget administrator before rising to become the department’s second in command. In 2017, he was appointed chief of the Aurora (CO) Fire Department. He is a graduate of National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program and has certifications from the International Association of Fire Chiefs Executive Development Institute and the Center for Public Safety Excellence.

JUSTIN COOPER took over as the new chief of Kennebunk (ME) Fire Rescue (KFR) on July 5. He succeeds previous KFR chief Jeffrey Rowe, who recently retired. Cooper joined the KFR in 1998 when he was 18. After graduating high school, he attended the University of Massachusetts—Amherst and worked for a nearby fire department. Prior to arriving at the KFR, Cooper was deputy chief of the department, a captain, and shift commander for the Biddeford (MA) Fire Department as well as deputy chief of Arundel (MA) Fire Rescue, all at the same time.

JOE FRANCO was formally announced as the new chief of the Poughkeepsie (NY) Fire Department (PFD) on July 18; the 27-year member of the department had been serving as its acting chief since January. Franco originally joined the U.S. Navy in 1985 and served on the USS Iowa and USS Vandergrift before becoming a dispatcher with the city in 1995. He was appointed to the position of firefighter in 1996 and immediately went into the fire academy. Franco was then promoted to lieutenant in 2001 and then deputy chief in 2017.

KELLY ANDERSON was promoted to assistant chief of the North Desert Division with the San Bernardino County (CA) Fire Department, where she will oversee the fire, rescue, and emergency medical responses in the Division 5 region of the county. Anderson began her career in 1994 as a fire explorer with the department in Hesperia. She was then hired as a limited-term firefighter in 1999 and promoted in 2002 to full-time status as well as a firefighter/paramedic. Anderson has served throughout the ranks and was promoted to battalion chief in 2015, when she was first assigned to the North Desert Division.

DREW SPIELMAN took over as the new chief of the Hudson (WI) Fire Department on July 1. Spielman succeeds previous HFD chief Scott St. Martin, who retired on June 30. After receiving his associate degree in fire protection from Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, Spielman was hired by the Green Bay (WI) Fire Department, where he worked for 23 years, rising through the ranks to become its battalion chief. He also served for 12 years as a volunteer firefighter in a surrounding township.