Los Alamos Fire Chief Troy Hughes. Photo Courtesy LAC
BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com
Los Alamos Fire Chief Troy Hughes will retire May 1, 2025, and move to the City of Brookings, South Dakota where he has accepted a position as the new chief of the Brookings Fire Department.
Chief Hughes told the Los Alamos Reporter on Wednesday that he and his wife Jodi, an elementary teacher at Los Alamos Public School, are excited about the move, which he said will bring them to within 3-4 hours drive from their grandchildren.
Brookings has a population of 25,000, Hughes said, and he is very impressed with what the community has to offer.
It will be a big change for Chief Hughes who has 40 years of fire service experience, including 13 years as LAFD Chief. The current Brookings Fire Chief, Pete Bolzer, is retiring after serving more than 45 years in emergency services, Hughes said. Hughes spent nearly 27 years with the Grand Island Fire Department where he quickly moved during the ranks spending 10 years a traing chief before serving three years as chief.
The Brookings Fire Department has four employees and 45 volunteers, They don’t have to handle medical because the local hospital does that.
“They do handle inspections because there are a lot of businesses and they do fire responses. It’s great! Very long-term dedicated volunteers, in fact I taught some of them when I was teaching in Nebraska about 20 years ago when I in addition to being the Grand Island Fire Training Chief, I was a part-time instructor for the Nebraska State Fire Marshal. In fact one of the volunteer was in my class back then,” Hughes said.
He noted that he had spent a significant amount of time getting to know the South Dakota fire services. teaching at five different South Dakota State Fire Schools, Hughes said.
“In fact, Chief Bolzer and I were both instructors at the Aberdeen State Fire School,” he said.
Brookings CIty Manager Paul Briseno said his team is excited to have Hughes join their team.
“His nationally recognized fire service experience, extensive training background, educational achievements, and leadership skills make him an outstanding fit as our next fire chief. Many of our volunteer firefighters participated in the interview process, and Troy was also their choice to guide the department forward,” Briseno said. He noted that Hughes was selected for the position through a nationwide recruitment process.
Hughes said Brookings’ hybrid Fire Department – a combination of paid career staff and volunteers – attracted him. The Fire Department serves the City of Brookings, 186 square miles in Brookings County and 27 square miles in Moody County.
“I enjoyed teaching classes for volunteer firefighters and have an affinity for them,” Hughes said. “The Brookings Fire Department’s volunteers and staff are highly trained and committed to quality fire service. I look forward to partnering with them in their quest for continuous improvement.”
He admitted that his new position will be a little less stressful than the one he has now.”LAFD is really strong, our Training Division is very strong. Our Operations Division, every time we run on a call. we know our job – our EMS DIvision is strong,” Chief Hughes said. ” Obviously you lose knowledge every time someone like me leaves, but the public won’t notice any change.”
He said the Department will be finalizing the acquisition of two new ladder trucks and at the same time we’ll be completing the pre-build on three new engines and more new ambulances. The Deparment is going full steam ahead for Station 4. The surveyors have been out there and on Tuesday the architects will be out there to meet with the firefighters who are the end users to figure out what they need. He said he is hoping that the new station will be finished quickly and that there will be a chance to expand some open space and perhaps add some public parking
“I’m am honored to accept my new position. I am committed to ensuring the community’s safety and supporting the courageous firefighters of the Brookings Fire Department,” he said.