Two Fort Thomas firefighters received promotions this month. Fire Chief Chris Amon presented badges and congratulated them at the August council meeting.
First up was Kyle Kaufman, who has been promoted to third shift captain and EMS captain.
Kaufman started with the department in September 2013, and in December 2019, he was promoted to lieutenant.
“Kyle is one of our highly organized and very intelligent personnel,” said Amon. “It’s been a privilege for me to work with him while I was on shift. He’s been very reliable in his role as lieutenant. In my tenure as chief, he has been there for me, helping out.”
Kaufman’s wife Nicole and daughter were on hand to pin on his badge.
The chief also introduced Mike Strady, who joined the department in 2016 and was promoted to lieutenant.
“I could say there’s never been a better firefighter,” said Amon. “Very confident. Whenever I’d ask for something to be done, it was already done. When I didn’t ask…he knew I wanted it done.”
Mayor Eric Haas congratulated and thanked the two firefighters for their service.
He noted that Fort Thomas has been fortunate to attract and keep good personnel especially at a time, he said, when the candidate pool for public safety jobs is not very deep.
Recently, Haas said he was on a committee to hire a new fire recruit. While fewer people applied, the hiring committee spoke with five very eligible people, he said. They expect to have a new firefighter in place soon.