New Pineville fire chief sworn in at city council meeting

PINEVILLE, La. (KALB) - The City of Pineville now has a new fire chief, but he is not new to the Pineville firefighting team. At the first council meeting of 2024 held on Jan. 9, the Pineville City Council approved Mayor Rich Dupree’s recommendation for Casey Cummings to lead the Pineville Fire Department (PFD) in a unanimous vote.

“It’s been a long road,” said Cummings. “It’s been many hours of studying, many hours of talking to the guys, trying to figure out different directions they want the department to go.”

Mayor Dupree marked Cummings as his next chief after the previous chief, Scott Kessler, retired back in March of last year. Cummings carries 34 years of experience in both parish and municipal fire service and has spent the last 20 years at the Pineville Fire Department. After serving Pineville as the station’s fire prevention officer, Cummings will now serve the city in a new role, at the helm of PFD.

“His experience was the biggest thing and the fact that he’s been in fire administration for the time period that he has made it even more obvious,” said Mayor Dupree.

Having that experience is why Cummings will focus on recruiting and retention, a struggle that fire departments face constantly.

“There are other jobs that you can go to where you can make good money,” Cummings said. “There’s no other job in my opinion that you’re gonna come to and have the satisfaction that you do working for the fire service.”

Cummings acknowledged the need for more firefighters once members of his team retire in the future. Moving forward, Cummings wants Cenla to recognize that PFD is more than just a firefighting team.

“We’re not only a fire department, we’re a medical department too,” said Cummings. “Typically, about 80 to 85 percent of our calls are EMS-related. So, the focus is going to be on strengthening the training in that area.”

For Cummings, it is about uniting PFD one step at a time.

“It’s a team. I’m just the coach,” Cummings said. “We’re gonna get through this together. We’re gonna make this department better than it’s ever been.”PINEVILLE, La. (KALB) - The City of Pineville has announced that Mayor Rich Dupree has selected Casey Cummings to be the next Chief of the Pineville Fire Department.

According to the city’s Facebook page, Cummings is a 20-year veteran of PFD and has 34 years in both Parish and Municipal Fire service.

The Pineville City Council will vote on Tuesday night (January 9) to make it official.

Cummings has been the Fire Prevention Officer for Pineville since 2007 and has worked with local and state officials on crime scene investigations and inspections of commercial structures.

The previous chief was Scott Kessler, who retired in March 2023.

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