Community Invited to Swearing-in of New Fire Chief Gene Sanders

May 08, 2023

The next City of Tallahassee Fire Department (TFD) Chief, Gene Sanders, will be officially sworn in on Friday, May 12. Incoming Chief Sanders has served with TFD for more than 25 years.

"As we look toward the future, TFD is in excellent hands under the strong leadership of Fire Chief Sanders," Deputy City Manager Cynthia Barber said. "He will ensure our organization maintains the high level of service and professionalism the community expects."

The community is invited to join City officials for the swearing-in ceremony at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 12, at Jack L. McLean Community Center, located at 700 Paul Russell Road.

"I have been incredibly fortunate to serve with TFD throughout my entire career, and I look forward to leading our dedicated team as Fire Chief," Incoming Chief Sanders said.

After starting out as a volunteer with TFD, Incoming Chief Sanders began his formal employment with the department in 1997. During his tenure, he has held the positions of Firefighter, Driver/Operator, Lieutenant, Captain, Battalion Chief, Division Chief and Deputy Chief. Sanders also served as the department's Fire Marshal from 2015 to 2017. Sanders currently serves as Deputy Chief of Operations, which oversees the daily operations of TFD, including the Emergency Medical Services and Training divisions. He also oversees Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Task Force 7 and Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) Task Force 2, serves as program coordinator for the State Homeland Security Grant Program and serves as the Region 2 Coordinator for the Statewide Emergency Response Plan.

Incoming Chief Sanders is a native of Tallahassee and graduated from Rickards High School. He and his wife Valencia are the proud parents of three children.

The ceremony will stream live on the City's government-access television channel, WCOT (Comcast and CenturyLink channel 13), and online at Talgov.com, Facebook.com/CityofTLH and Twitter.com/CityofTLH.