Harker Heights announces interim fire chief

Deputy Fire Chief Cindy Hicks

Killeen Daily Herald
Staff report
May 4, 2023

Harker Heights City Manager David Mitchell announced this week that Deputy Fire Chief Cindy Hicks has agreed to serve as the interim fire chief for Harker Heights.

Hicks joined the Harker Heights Fire Department in 1994 and moved through the ranks before serving in her current role as deputy chief.

“We look forward to Interim Chief Hicks’ continued leadership within the department,” Mitchell said in a news release. “Cindy has been instrumental in the many advancements of the Harker Heights’ Fire Department to include major renovations to both fire stations, implementation of a training plan for all firefighters, and the development of a tenure-based pay plan. We have the utmost confidence in her ability to lead this department forward until a successor has been selected.”

According to the release, the City of Harker Heights is conducting a search for the next fire chief.

Fire Chief Paul D. Sims retired from the Harker Heights Fire Department on April 28 after six years with the department. Sims retired from the Texas Municipal Retirement System and will remain in the fire services but within a different retirement system.

Sims accepted a position as assistant fire chief in Montgomery County, the release said.