Kimker Takes Reins Of Bourbon Fire District

Steve Kimker was selected as Bourbon Fire Chief in February, succeeding Daniel Whatley for the district’s top post.

Kimker has been a member of the Bourbon Fire District since 2000 and served as deputy chief for the previous 14 years.

A firefighting career that began more than 30 years in ago in Sullivan has brought Kimker to this point. Three years ago, he retired as captain at Richmond Heights after a 25-year stint. Despite focusing on his own business that takes him across North America, Kimker has stayed active in the district and he  wants to grow the training, support and enthusiasm while he’s chief.

That means finding more people to join the district.

“So many people don’t realize we do this for free,” said Kimker, who wants to recruit and retain more personnel. “We need support. We’re short on manpower.”

Kimker said volunteers don’t necessarily have to be willing to go fight a house fire; the district can use a broad array of skills from IT to administrative duties.

As chief, Kimker said he plans to work with the Bourbon School District on finding more junior firefighters and promoting careers in firefighting and emergency medical services.

Kimker also hopes to continue steering kids away from making bad decisions while driving — whether it is driving intoxicated or driving distracted.

Kimker has spoken with Bourbon High School students on several occasions, forcefully laying out why they should never get behind the wheel intoxicated or talk or text while driving.

“I’ve responded to so many accident calls of friends, kids of friends and friends of my kids,” Kimker said.

Two years ago, Kimker and other first responders staged a graphic mock accident scene at BHS, complete with a helicopter medical transport. Later, Kimker spoke with students and urged them to make good choices.

“Anything I can do to help them make the right decision, I’ll do,” he said.

As chief, Kimker said he plans on continuing to work with local fire districts to provide comprehensive services to the community.

“Not many people know it, but we have agreements with other districts to provide support,” he said. “If there is a house fire in Bourbon, Cuba and Sullivan are automatically paged. If there is a house fire in Cuba, we are paged. We’re all working hard together to take care of our citizens.”