Lubbock Hosts Finalists for Chief of Lubbock Fire Rescue

"I've been fortunate enough to be a part of Lubbock Fire Rescue for the past 25 years, the deputy chief for almost 10 years, and I am currently serving as the interim Fire Chief," Keinast said. "Our department is so blessed to have the support of our city management, our elected officials, and most importantly, our citizens."

Keinast might have a leg up on the competition who all hail from around the metroplex. When asked what difficutlies Lubbock Fire Rescue faces the interim chief explained what it means to manage a fire department in a rapidly growing city.

"Our challenges are good challenges to have," Keinast continued. "Keeping up with growth."

As a city, Lubbock is quickly approaching the 300,000 person mark in population. The population explosions means that there are constantly new structures and businesses being added to the city. Keinast said that one of the challenges that the Lubbock Fire Department faces is staying in-step with that growth.

"It's very easy to fall behind and very difficult to catch up," he commented. "Monitoring growth and ensuring our level of service that the community deserves is essential."

Four other finalists for the position were present at the meet-and-greet. All are decorated firefighters from different areas of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

• Robin Bergerson of the City of Waco Fire Department. He is currently the Executive Deputy Fire Chief, but has held the positions of firefighter, Captain, and Deputy Chief of Emergency Operations within the Department, among others during his 27 years with the Department.
• Kyle Mills currently serves as Assistant Chief of the Frisco Fire Department. Throughout his 20 year career, he has served several fire departments across the state including Amarillo, Plano, Celina and Frisco. He was also a Deputy State Coordinator for six years  for the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS).
• Brent Shanklin is the Assistant Fire Chief for the Arlington Fire Department. During his 28 years there, he has used his expertise in Fire and Medical Operations divisions, as well as serving as an instructor for the FIre Academy for several years.
• Richard Stewart is currently serving as Assistant Chief Special Services for the Irving Fire Department. Prior to this role, he has served as Assistant Chief Operations, Assistant Chief Administration, Battalion Chief Training/Communications, among others. He has been with IPD since 1994.

South Plains LIVE! caught up with Richard Stewart to seek an outside perspective on the challenges facing an ever-growing Lubbock community. Watch that interview below:

Overall, the meet and greet was an excellent opporutunity for Lubbock residents to have the chance to meet and talk to would be leaders in the community. All the candidates were happy to shake hands, talk, and answer any and all questions that the people who showed up had to ask.

The City of Lubbock said in a release earlier this week that the final decision on the Chief of Lubbock Fire Rescue will be made as soon as possible.