The Queen Creek Fire and Medical Department (QCFMD) hosted a promotion ceremony for employees promoted since July 1, 2023. In the last fiscal year, 25 employees were promoted.
“This ceremonial promotional ceremony recognizes the dedication and commitment of our membership,” shared QCFMD Chief Vance Gray. “Many of these individuals were officially promoted months ago, serving our community with compassion in a new role for months before being recognized. This selfless service is what the Queen Creek Fire and Medical Department stands for – keeping the community and one another safe. Thank you for continuing to serve the Queen Creek community – I am incredibly proud to lead this outstanding department.”
- Anthony Klenner, Battalion Chief
- Jason Mertlich, Battalion Chief
- Dallas Pardo, Battalion Chief
- David Vilt, Battalion Chief
- Cesar Urena, Captain
- Matt Highstreet, Captain
- Peter Minder, Captain
- Nick Hansen, Captain
- Micah Thompson, Captain
- Matt Bailey, Captain
- Stephen Dotson, Captain
- Jason Spann, Captain
- Dan Shearer, Captain
- Ryan Denning, Engineer
- Matt Araiza, Engineer
- Jake Hansen, Engineer
- Shane Melvin, Engineer
- Declan Wall, Engineer
- Edgar Febres, Firefighter
- Brian Olsen, Firefighter
- Edward Malone, Firefighter
- Michal Dodt, Firefighter
- Mitch Vankempen, Firefighter
- Justin Hamblin, Firefighter
- George Cyrus, Firefighter
The battalion chief is responsible for supervising the five fire stations, including the trucks and personnel assigned to the stations. Battalion chiefs act as the incident commander on major incidents and are also responsible for various administrative duties.
The captain serves a crucial role, responsible for directly supervising a station and the personnel assigned to the truck and medic unit. In addition to serving as the first responders to an incident, fire captains are responsible for ensuring their crew completes necessary daily paperwork, fire and physical training, hydrant inspections and business inspections.
In addition to safely operating the fire engine in high stress situations, the engineer is also responsible for inspecting the engine and optimizing the efficiently of the engine on a call with proper placement. Fire engineers have an excellent sense of direction and are acutely familiar with the roadways in their community to ensure the quickest route during an emergency.
QCFMD follows a paramilitary structure with firefighters and engineers reporting to the captain and captains reporting to the on-duty battalion chief. QCFMD currently consists of five fire stations, with medics (ambulance units) at four of the five stations.
For more information about the QCFMD, visit QueenCreekAZ.gov/fire.
