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Alpharetta names Brad Deckinger fire chief; department pins multiple promotions
Summary
At a morning ceremony in Alpharetta, City and fire officials promoted Brad Deckinger to fire chief and recognized multiple promotions across the department, including new apparatus engineers, lieutenants, a captain, a training chief and an assistant fire marshal.
Alpharetta promoted Brad Deckinger to fire chief and honored a slate of officer promotions at a morning ceremony attended by city leaders, department members and family.
The promotions mark a formal restoration of a separate fire leadership role in Alpharetta. City Administrator Chris Lagerfeld said the change reflects “the movement forward with returning to a model of both the police chief and a fire chief,” and called the day “special” for the department and the city.
The ceremony combined formal pinning and short remarks from colleagues and officials explaining the responsibilities tied to each rank. Brad Deckinger accepted the role and said he felt “honored and humbled” to take the position, and vowed to serve the department and community.
Officials and peers described the responsibilities that come with the promoted ranks. Chief Hefner described the fire apparatus engineer position as critical, saying, “I can't think of a more important position in the fire service than that position,” and outlined the role’s duties for apparatus readiness and first-line supervision. Speakers also detailed what lieutenants, captains and training chiefs are expected to do in daily operations, on the fireground and in mentoring crews.
Named promotions at the event included: - Brad Deckinger, elevated to fire chief. Deckinger spoke briefly after being introduced and thanked colleagues and city leaders for their support. - Two fire apparatus engineers promoted: Brandon Decker and Josh Shuman; each was introduced by colleagues and pinned by family members. - Lieutenants were promoted and introduced with remarks on the historic meaning of the lieutenant insignia and the supervisory duties attached to the rank. - Bruce Hartman was promoted to fire captain and pinned by family members. - Adam Wade was introduced and pinned as training chief; speakers emphasized the training chief’s role in onboarding, readiness and sustaining department standards. - Assistant fire marshal Van Ness received recognition with a shadow box of service patches and insignia.
City Administrator Chris Lagerfeld shared a personal anecdote from his family about a toy fire bear that had been kept by his son and that he returned to the department during the ceremony. "That bear's traveled to South Florida. That bear's been with him as he grew up. I brought the bear in today because I wanna give it back to the fire department," Lagerfeld said.
Speakers repeatedly framed the promotions as both recognition of past service and an assumption of increased responsibility. A closing speaker urged the promoted members to remember the duty that comes with rank: “Carry your new titles with pride, but more importantly carry them with purpose.”
No policy votes, budget actions, or formal directives were announced during the ceremony; the event focused on personnel recognition and remarks about roles and expectations moving forward.
