The staff of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department will be reorganized to make it more diverse and better trained, Mayor Donna Deegan announced Thursday.

Chief Keith Powers will continue to lead the 1,800-person division.

Deegan called a news conference to announce what she called a succession plan. She was flanked by Powers and 16 chiefs and directors, some of them new and the others reappointed.

Teams of city and fire department staff have developed a leadership development program that advances the skills of those who could lead the department in future years with educational and certification courses. The changes also make the department’s administration mirror the city it serves — 38% Black, 6% Asian, 6% Hispanic and Latino, and 50% White, Deegan said.

“My goal is to make sure we maintain that quality of leadership,” Deegan said. “I wanted to make sure that as we created this program, and we all created it together, that we accomplish the goals in this city of making sure we could have a more diverse leadership in this department, but also make sure that folks got the opportunity to receive the certification and education they need to attain those roles.”

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For the chief, this was a big day for a department he said changed his life and the lives of the people he works with.

“I have had the pleasure of being in JFRD leadership for eight years, and during that time, we have increased women and minority recruitment and hiring while growing the entire department by adding state of the art equipment and facilities,” Powers said. “It is my pleasure to continue all of this work; it is important work under Mayor Deegan and the administration.”

Powers leads a department with 64 stations operating under a $303 million budget. His fire service career began with the Nassau County Fire Rescue Department in 1994. Two years later, he transferred to Jacksonville’s Fire Station 17 in Woodstock Park, before promotions to engineer, lieutenant and captain.

Powers has since served as the division chief of operations, captain of tactical support and interim director/fire chief, before City Council unanimously confirmed him in early 2020 as chief.

Deegan said she and her staff saw a need to develop plans to expand internal leadership development opportunities for various departments, including the fire department. So a working group of supervisors and managers was assembled to develop plans that advance the skills of those as they rise in the department.

With several highly ranked members of the department set to retire in the next few years, Deegan said they have put in place a succession plan “to create a pipeline that brings diverse talent to the top.”

“We will also offer more educational opportunities including reimbursement for college degrees, and the city covering the cost of necessary certification courses, all very important to our development,” Deegan said. “The overall leadership program is being designed and implemented to advance the skills of our future internal leaders while helping us recruit bright, young diverse talent.”

With that in mind, Deegan reappointed what she calls experienced leaders to be mentors to the future leaders of the department. Along with Powers, the reappointed staff include Fire Operations Division Chief Steve Riska, Rescue Division Chief Jacob Blanton, Fire Prevention Division Chief Kevin Jones and Emergency Preparedness Chief Andre Ayoub.

Deegan also introduced the following new appointments, who will go through the new leadership training programs:

• Willie King as the new deputy fire chief.
• Chris Scott as the new deputy division chief of operations.
• Teresa Kinstle as the new division chief of training.
• Austin Gambill as the new deputy division chief of training.
• Renaldo Horn as the new chief of recruiting.
• Allen Mason as the new deputy division chief of fire prevention.
• Percy Golden Jr. as the new deputy division chief of emergency preparedness.
• Mike Lesniak as the new division chief of administrative services.
• Terrance Holmes as the new deputy division chief of administrative services.
• Berlinda Tookes as the new assistant chief of EEO/ethics.

Three of the appointments are promotions. The appointments and reappointments add 0.1% to the department budget, or about $547,000, Deegan said.

Powers will remain chief throughout the three-plus years remaining in Deegan’s term, or when he retires, Deegan said.