Fire service veteran returns to Waco for interim fire chief post

Kevin McGee will return to Waco for another stint as interim fire chief until a permanent chief can be hired in early 2024.
Rod Aydelotte, Tribune-Herald file photo

A retired Virginia fire chief who served as Waco’s interim fire chief in 2020 is returning to that role until the city can choose a permanent chief.

Waco’s city manager has chosen Kevin J. McGee to head the department during the search to replace Chief Gregory Summers, who announced his retirement in October and offered to serve out the rest of the year.

City Manager Bradley Ford said McGee took the interim post Sunday. He said Summers will remain as a special projects team member to help with the transition during the search for a new chief, expected to take four to six months.

McGee, who has 40 years of fire service experience, served as Waco’s interim chief for three months in 2020 before the city chose Summers for chief.

“That familiarity will help him with the direction for the department,” Ford said.

The Waco City Council was expected to formalize McGee’s appointment with a vote on Tuesday.

According to a resolution in Tuesday’s agenda, McGee spent 12 years as chief of the Prince William County Department of Fire Safety and Rescue in Virginia from 2007 to 2019. Prior to becoming chief, McGee served as both a lieutenant-captain and battalion chief.

Since the 2020 interim chief posting in Waco, McGee has worked as a consultant and college instructor, the resolution says.

McGee was hired for the interim job through Strategic Government Resources, a company that keeps a roster of retired city government officials that can serve interim positions, Ford said. The city will pay SGR $260,000 for the hiring of McGee, which will compensate him for six months and provide travel costs two times a month for McGee to return home, in addition to a fee to SGR.