Names in the News: June 26, 2022

NIKO KING will take over as the new chief of the Laguna Beach (CA) Fire Department (LBFD) on July 5. He will replace outgoing LBFD Chief Mike Garcia, who will retire. King has spent the past 28 years with the Sacramento (CA) Metropolitan Fire District (SMFD), where he is currently the deputy fire chief of operations. With the SMFD, he has also served as assistant chief of the training division (including a new recruit academy), a strike team leader, and a Type III incident commander. King was also a member of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s incident support team.

BRENT MCCLELLAN will take over as the new chief of Midway Fire Rescue (MFR) in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, on August 1. McClellan is a 29-year fire service veteran who began his career in West Virginia before moving to Pawleys Island in 2003, where he accepted a firefighter position at MFR. He eventually rose through the ranks to become a battalion chief with the department. He is currently the assistant chief of the Georgetown City Fire Department. MFR primarily serves the Pawleys Island, Litchfield Beach, Prince George, and Debordieu Colony areas.

DAVID PARSONS will take over as the new chief of the Oceanside (CA) Fire Department (OFD) on July 30. He will replace current OFD chief Rick Robinson, who will retire following six years in the position. Parsons, the Division Chief of Community Risk Reduction, is a 27-year fire service veteran, the past 21 of which were spent with the OFD. Parsons previously served as the department’s acting chief, acting deputy chief, and incident commander and has served as a captain for 12 years. He was involved in a federal incident management team to wildfire deployments across the country.

DEWEY COY was announced as the new chief of the Sweetwater (TX) Fire Department and Ambulance Service (SFDAS) on June 22. He takes over the top spot from former SFDAS chief Grant Madden, who retired in January after 23 years of service. Coy is a 33-year fire service veteran who began his career in 1989 with the Zephyr (TX) Volunteer Fire Department. In 1988, he moved on to the Jacksonville (AR) Fire Department (JFD), where he earned the rank of battalion chief. Coy subsequently retired from the JFD in December 2020. He will begin his duties as SFDAS chief on August 1.

GREG TRYON was nominated as the new chief for Central Valley Fire District (CVFD) in Belgrade, Montana. On finalizing his contract, he will take over the top spot from previous CVFD chief Ron Lindroth, who resigned earlier this year. Prior to arriving at the CVFD, Tryon worked for more than nine years with Eastside Fire & Rescue in Issaquah, Washington, where he was serving as deputy chief. Tryon has a degree in public safety administration and emergency management from Grand Canyon University.