BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The Calabash Fire Department is excited and pleased to announce that Keith McGee will be starting as chief of the department on July 1st, 2022.
Chief McGee comes to us after serving as chief of the Apex, NC, Fire Department for nearly eight years.
He is a native of Wilkesboro, NC, and has been in the fire service since 1987, having started as a teenage volunteer with the Champion Volunteer Fire Department.
During his tenure as chief of Apex, Chief McGee has had many major accomplishments.
He opened a new fire station, added a second staffed aerial apparatus, increased staffing from 58 to 116 funded full-time staff members, increased the budget from six million to fifteen million dollars, increased apparatus staffing from three to four, and improved the ISO rating for the Town of Apex from a Class 3 to a Class 1.
Chief McGee previously served 23 years with the City of Rocky Mount Fire Department, working his way up the ranks from firefighter to fire captain, then battalion chief, and division chief.
He has earned an associates degree in Fire Protection Technology from Wilson Community College, and a BS in Management from Bellevue University.
In addition, Chief McGee is a certified EMT-Basic, certified fire officer IV, certified fire instructor, and certified fire inspector.
He is also a graduate of the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy, chief fire officer designee through the Center for Public Safety Excellence, a UNC School of Government Leading for Results Fellow, and served as a Level 1 Peer Assessor for the Center of Public Safety Excellence for 10 years.
Chief McGee will be moving to Calabash with his wife, Tammy, to whom he has been married for 26 years. Their 24-year-old daughter, Allie, is also on the move, heading to Mooresville, NC, to begin a professional career.
Chief McGee will replace Chief Randall (Randy) Bork, who is retiring after 13 years of service to the Calabash Fire District.