Denton fire chief achieves international recognition for career excellence

Denton Record-Chronicle
By Brooke Colombo Staff Writer bcolombo@dentonrc.com
Sept 26, 2022


Denton Fire Chief Kenneth Hedges, shown in 2018, is now a credentialed chief fire officer.
DRC file photo

Being credentialed illustrates a fire chief’s “commitment to life-long learning, skill development and community service” and identifies him as a chief with superior leadership capabilities, according to the Center for Public Safety Excellence. Internationally, 1,775 chiefs have achieved the designation.

Through the CPSE fire chief credentialing program, every aspect of Hedges’ career was put under a microscope.

“You make yourself a little bit vulnerable putting yourself out there and saying, ‘Here’s everything I’ve done in my career. I want you to judge and tell me what you think,’” Hedges said.

When he first looked at the qualifications a few years ago, he didn’t think he would meet them.

“I just didn’t feel I was good enough for the credentialing,” Hedges said. “I looked at it again the first part of this year and I thought, ‘You know what? I think I’m at the point in my career where I can justify it.’”

Hedges’ career as fire chief started in April 2018, when his promotion marked the Denton Fire Department’s first internal appointment since 1958. Since then, he took the lead on the department’s response to COVID-19, when the department had its communication pipeline tested while it assisted Denton County with virus testing and vaccine administration and continued to serve the community.

Hedges oversaw the first fire service expansion since 2007 when Denton’s Fire Station 8 opened in February 2021. He also created and developed a five-year strategic plan with a new mission and core values using feedback from everyone in the department, not just a few strategic planners, he said.

“I don’t think you can communicate enough,” Hedges said. “I overcommunicate even to the point where we have members say, ‘I don’t care to hear all that.’”

And when a severe winter storm hit Texas in February 2021, he led the charge when the department saw a 480% increase in calls for service.

As credentialing peer assessors visited Hedges to review his education, certification, training and goals for the future, he was expecting an hourlong, grueling interview.

A credentialing commission then reviewed Hedges’ application and unanimously determined he would be credentialed.

“It was definitely a sense of relief,” Hedges said of the news.

Now, Hedges’ next goal is to further his education by pursuing a master’s degree within the next six months. Hedges will have to reapply for the chief fire officer designation after every three years.

“We need to have time to kind of work on ourselves versus just the department,” he said. “It’s definitely a balancing act.”

But Hedges has big plans for the department, too. For the past three years, the Fire Department has been aiming to achieve accreditation, a voluntary CPSE designation that sets the gold standard for the best practices for the industry. This is the first time the department has sought accreditation since it was established 148 years ago.

“[Credentialing] is good for professional development,” Hedges said. “But I’d be more proud if we get the department accredited because that means we did it as a team.”

Hedges said among his goals are connecting more with the community: He wants to know what the community thinks of the interactions they’ve had with the department and how it can better serve them. Denton residents can fill out a survey online to provide feedback on the department’s service.

He added: “What we’ve accomplished over the past four and a half years, I feel like it’s almost a race with the amount of growth that’s coming to the city. … I feel the Fire Department is really proactive.”

BROOKE COLOMBO can be reached at 940-566-6882 and via Twitter at @brookecolombo.