While it wasn’t where he originally saw himself in his youth, new Emporia Fire Chief Brandon Beck says he is proud to have the opportunity to serve his hometown in this new capacity.
Beck, an Emporia native, was officially sworn in as the new fire chief during a ceremony inside White Auditorium Thursday afternoon. He says he is grateful for the opportunity to give back to the community that has given him so much.
Beck spoke with KVOE News following Thursday’s ceremony and says his original plans were to pursue a career in athletic training before he became involved with the department as a volunteer in the early 90s.
Beck says while he hadn’t originally thought of fire fighting as a natural career path, he knows he has chosen the right field for him. He says Thursday’s ceremony came with an extra sense of pride as he is now in a rare position where he is able to serve his home community in a way not many get to experience.
In addition to comments from Beck, Thursday’s ceremony featured speeches from retired Emporia and Butler County Fire Chief Jim Woydziak, an invocation from St. James Missionary Baptist Church Pastor Larry Williams and Beck’s formal pinning performed by Jack Taylor who served as Emporia’s Fire Chief for 21 years before his retirement last December.
Beck joined Emporia Fire as a volunteer firefighter in May 1993. He was then hired as a full-time firefighter and EMT in 1998 before being promoted to paramedic/firefighter in 2001. Beck was then promoted to Assistant Chief in 2007 and assumed the role of interim chief last December following Taylor’s retirement.
Beck is the first internal candidate to be promoted to chief following Claude Lang who served as Emporia’s Fire Chief from 1958 to 1990.
