Fort Worth deputy fire chief named new Burleson fire chief

Ken Freeman, deputy chief for the Fort Worth Fire Department, has been named as Burleson’s new fire chief.

Burleson City Manager Dale Cheatham announced Friday that Freeman will begin his new position Feb. 1, 2016.

“He brings a wealth of experience and I think he will be a good fit for Burleson,” Cheatham said.

Freeman has spent his 38-year firefighting career with the City of Fort Worth. He was 19 when he was hired as a firefighter in 1977. Freeman was promoted to engineer in June 1980, lieutenant in May 1983, and captain in June 1986. He promoted to battalion chief/operations division in February 1989, then deputy chief in the educational and training division, where he currently serves, in 2014. Freeman also served as fire marshal, May 2003-2005. His resume includes the role of training coordinator for the Tarrant County College Fire Service Training Center since 2009.

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“One of my key areas of focus has been working to reduce the risks our communities face day to day,” Freeman said. “In particular, I have served and continue to serve on numerous task forces and collaborative efforts that address the issue of childhood injury such as the Fort Worth Drowning Prevention Coalition and Peaks and Ladders.”

Freeman’s educational background includes an associate of arts degree from Tarrant County College in 1990 and a bachelor of arts degree in public administration from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1993.

Burleson’s search for a new fire chief started in August when Gary Wisdom, who became Burleson’s first full-time paid fire chief in 1998, announced that he was retiring at the end of 2015.

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