Kenneth McCarthy Selected as Corvallis Fire Chief

June 17, 2019 - Kenneth McCarthy has been hired as the new Fire Chief of the Corvallis Fire Department and started work on June 17. The announcement caps off a nationwide recruitment in which McCarthy distinguished himself from a field of well-qualified applicants.

McCarthy joins Corvallis from the San Jose Fire Department in San Jose, Calif., where he held a series of increasingly responsible positions in one of the largest departments in the nation. Most recently, McCarthy was Deputy Chief, where he oversaw 700 employees and 32 individual fire stations in the department’s service area.

McCarthy succeeds Roy Emery, who joined the Corvallis Fire Department as a volunteer more than three decades ago and rose through the ranks to become chief in 2006. Emery announced his retirement in 2018.

As a department director, McCarthy will report to City Manager Mark Shepard.

“It’s been a pleasure to get to know Chief McCarthy during this recruitment process,” said City Manager Mark Shepard. “I’m excited to have Ken on board, and I’m grateful to Chief Emery for his many years of dedication and service to the Corvallis community.”

The Corvallis Fire Department provides fire prevention and suppression services to the City of Corvallis, Oregon State University, and the surrounding Corvallis Rural Fire Protection District. The department also provides ambulance service for nearly all of Benton County, a 765-square-mile area. The department is known throughout the Pacific Northwest for its strong volunteer program that has mentored dozens of future firefighters who have gone on to serve communities around the country.