Fire Department
Staff
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Fire Chief Ricky Boeker Chief Boeker is a lifelong resident of Brenham and a 1977 graduate of Brenham High School. He joined the Department in May, 1988 and advanced through the ranks of volunteers to be elected Chief in 2005. In January, 2008 Boeker was named the City of Brenham's first paid fire chief. He also serves as the City's Emergency Management Coordinator. Boeker has been an instructor for Texas A&M Municipal Fire School since 2000. He received Firefighter of the Year in 1995 and again in 2007. He was also named the Central Texas Fireman's and Fire Marshal Firefighter of the Year in 1996. Boeker and his wife, Virginia, have been married since 1982; they have two children and three grandchildren. |
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Deputy Chief/Fire Marshal Alan Finke Finke has spent all of his adult life in Brenham, moving here from Navasota, TX in 1970 while still a high school student. He attended Blinn College from 1972 to 1974 and began his public safety career in 1974 at age 20 as a patrol officer with the Brenham Police Department. Finke joined the Brenham Fire Department as a volunteer firefighter in 1976, while working as an Emergency Medical Technician with a local ambulance service. He was hired by the Fire Department as an Apparatus Operator on April 1, 1978 and worked in that capacity for 15 years. Finke was promoted to Captain in 1991 and served as Deputy Fire Marshal until being promoted to Fire Marshal in 1993. In 1996, he was promoted to Deputy Fire Chief/Fire Marshal and continues to serve in that capacity today. Finke is certified by the State of Texas as a Firefighter, Fire Inspector, Arson Investigator, Fire Instructor and Master Peace Officer. He is a national board-certified fire investigator holding the International Association of Arson Investigators "Certified Fire Investigator" status. Finke is a two-time member of the Board of Directors of the Texas Chapter of the IAAI, and served as president of that organization from 2008-2010. He was named Brenham Firefighter of the Year in 1992. Finke and his wife, were married in 1975 and have three children and one grandchild. |
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First Assistant Chief Ronald Bentke Bentke has been with the Brenham Fire Department since March, 1992. He was elected to the position of First Assistant in January, 2010. Prior to that, he served as District Chief. Bentke attained his Accredited Advanced Certification from the State Fireman's and Fire Marshal's Association of Texas. Bentke oversees the maintenance at the Fireman's Training Center and he also heads up the Department's annual Fish Fry and is very active in all Department fundraisers. Bentke was named Firefighter of the Year in 2000 and again in 2010, a well-deserved honor. He and his wife Jeri have two children. Bentke works for Blue Bell Creameries and loves being a Brenham firefighter. |
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Second Assistant Fire Chief Michael Draehn Draehn has grown up in Brenham and is a graduate of Brenham High School Class of 1985. His first joined Salem Volunteer Fire Department in 1985 and is still a member. He held the titles of Training Officer, Apparatus Captain and Asst Chief from 1987 - 1992. Michael has been with the Brenham Fire Department since March, 1994. He was elected to the position of Second Assistant Chief in January 2006. Prior to that, he served as District Chief from 2002 - 2005. Michael and his wife Brenda were married in March of 2000. Michael is employed at Mike Hopkins Distributing where he is the Systems Administrator and his wife is employed at Sealy Mattress Company and they have three daughters Amanda, Shelby and Kelsey. Michael currently holds his EMT Basic, Intermediate Accredited SFFMA, Instructor 1, Vehicle Extrication Technician 1 and Swift Water Operations Certifications. Michael was named Firefighter of the Year in 2008. |
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District Chief Derek Janner Janner is a lifelong resident of Brenham and a 2001 graduate of Brenham High School. He joined the department in October 2005 and was elected District Chief in 2008. He has attained his Intermediate Certification through SFFMA and is a Red Cross CPR/First Aid Instructor. Janner currently serves as the secretary/treasurer for the Washington County Firefighters' Association. He and his wife Michelle married in 2005 and have one daughter. He works for MIC Group. |
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District Chief Kirby Simmons District Chief Simmons moved to Washington County in 2001. He relocated to the city of Brenham in 2008 and became a member of the Brenham Fire Department. Kirby was previously a seven-year member of the Houston Fire Department Volunteers where he served as a senior captain. Prior to that, he was with the Cypress Creek Volunteer Fire Department in Harris County, TX for 11 years. At Cypress Creek, he held positions of Assistant Chief, Captain, Lieutenant and Training Coordinator. District Chief Simmons has been an instructor for the Harris County Field Day at the Texas Engineering Extension Service's Brayton Fire Training Field in College Station, Texas since 1992. Kirby obtained a bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University in 1982. Currently he holds his basic certification from the State Fireman's and Fire Marshal's Association of Texas. He and his wife Jean Ann have three children. He works as a commercial real estate appraiser. |
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Administrative Secretary Carrie Derkowski |
A-Shift |
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Captain Adam Heath Mahlmann Mahlmann was hired as an Apparatus Operator in October, 1993. He promoted to Captain in March 2007. Mahlmann recently graduated from the Central Texas Law Enforcement Academy and is commissioned as a police officer and arson investigator. He holds certifications as an Advanced Arson Investigator, Advanced Firefighter and Inspector. Mahlmann is also a Fire Service Instructor II. He is accredited by the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress in HazMat Operations, Fire Fighter II, Fire Investigator, Fire Inspector II and Plan Examiner I. |
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Apparatus Operator Gregory (Tank) Nienstedt Tank joined the Brenham Fire Department as a volunteer in April 1993. He has served as Training Coordinator and Second Assistant Chief. Tank promoted from the volunteers ranks to Apparatus Operator in April 2000. He currently holds IFSACS Certifications in Advanced Fire Fighter, Haz-Mat Tech, Instructor II, Investigator Advanced, and Driver Operator through the Texas Commission on Fire Protection. Tank also takes care of the departments SCBA and Communication equipment. Tank is married to Susan who also works for the city and has one daughter Lucy. Tank teaches at Texas A & M Annual Fire School and enjoys teaching in the Brenham Fire Department. |
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Apparatus Operator Chad Dismukes Dismukes joined the Brenham Fire Department as a volunteer in February 2000. He is a lifelong resident of Brenham and is a 2000 graduate of Brenham High School. Dismukes is also a graduate of Blinn College's EMT-B program and the Texas A&M Fire Academy. He was promoted to Apparatus Operator in July, 2001. Dismukes handles the Fire Department's purchasing and issuing of uniforms and personal protective equipment. He is certified by the Texas Commission on Fire Protection as Fire Fighter-Advanced, Driver-Operator and Instructor 1. Dismukes and his wife, Amanda, were married in August, 2009. She is a math teacher and assistant softball coach at Brenham High School. |
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Apparatus Operator Justin Schroeder Justin is a graduate of Brenham High School and Texas A&M Fire Academy and was hired in January 2010. He is also certified as an EMT. Justin is married, and his wife, Janice, is a fifth grade teacher at First Baptist. |
B-Shift |
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Captain Douglas Maurer Maurer was hired as an Apparatus Operator in October 1978 and promoted to Captain in 2002. |
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Apparatus Operator Brian Scheffer Scheffer joined as a volunteer in May 1997 and promoted to the rank of Apparatus Operator in July 2000 and has served as the Department's Training Coordinator since January 2004. Scheffer was named Firefighter of the Year in 2001 and 2008. Scheffer was the Firefighter of the Year for Central Texas Fireman's & Fire Marshall in 2002 and first runner up for Firefighter of the Year for the State Fireman's & Fire Marshall's Association in 2003. Scheffer currently hold Master Firefighter thru State Fireman's & Fire Marshall's Association, Advance Firefighter, Fire Investigator, Fire Officer II, Instructor II, Hazmat Technician, & Driver Operator certifications thru the Texas Commission on of Fire Protection. Scheffer is an American Heart Association CPR Instructor and is currently on the Certification board for the SFFMA. Scheffer has been a Guest Instructor for Texas Fireman's Training School since 2004 and is an Adjunct Instructor for TEEX. Scheffer married Shelley Markwardt in 2004 and they have a son Brayden. |
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Apparatus Operator Brett Schroeder Schroeder joined the Brenham Fire Department as a volunteer in 2001. He is a lifelong resident of Brenham and is a 2000 Graduate of Brenham High School. Schroeder is also a graduate of Texas A&M Fire Academy. He was promoted in June of 2003 to an Apparatus Operator. Schroeder handles all the maintenance on the small engines and on the Jaws of Life tools. He currently holds Texas Commission on Fire Protection Intermediate Certification, Driver operator and Instructor I Certifications. Schroeder and his wife Jennifer were married in August of 2006. Schroeder and his wife love spending time at the coast or just being outdoors. |
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Apparatus Operator Cody Wagner Cody is a graduate of Burton High School in 2002 and graduated from the Texas A&M Fire Academy in 2007. He was hired in January 2010 and promoted to Apparatus Operator and got his certification as a swift water rescue technician a year later. He is in charge of all the pre-plans on B-shift and inspecting the entire City owned fire extinguishers. He married his wife Meghan in May of 2011. |
C-Shift |
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Captain Allan Hinze Captain Allan Hinze is a lifelong resident of Brenham and a graduate of Brenham High School and Blinn College while attending Sam Houston University for one year. He joined the Department in March 1972 as an Apparatus Operator. He was a graduate of Texas A&M Firefighter Recruit School in 1972 with a Texas Commission on Fire Protection Basic Certification. Hinze was promoted to Captain in 1978 and became a Shift Captain shortly after that. In 1984 received his Master Firefighter Certification and in 1998 received his Basic Inspector Certification from the Texas Commission on Fire Protection. He is also a certified Instructor. The Department honored him as Fireman of the in 1990 and 2006. In 1996 he became Fleet Manager for the Department and has been involved with the design and specs for the Department Apparatus. In 2000 he became involved with the EVT (Emergency Vehicle Technicians) program and has set up the EVT program in the Department. Hinze and his wife, Linda, have been married since 1971; and they have two children and three grandchildren. |
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Apparatus Operator Cecil Wright Wright joined the Department as an Apparatus Operator in 1978. |
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Apparatus Operator Andrew Jozwiak Andrew Jozwiak joined the department as a volunteer in February 2004. He attended Texas A&M Fire Academy and was promoted to Apparatus Operator in April of 2007. He holds a Basic Certification thru the Texas Commission of Fire Protection and also Driver Operator and Instructor One certifications. He is a member of the Texas Association of Emergency Vehicle Technicians and does an excellent job as the Departments EVT. |
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Apparatus Operator Joshua Sebastian Joshua is a lifelong resident of Brenham and joined the Brenham Fire Department as a volunteer in 2004. He graduated from Brenham High School in 2004 and in 2005 graduated from Texas A&M Fire Academy. He promoted to Apparatus Operator in 2010 and is a certified Hazmat Technician. Josh and his wife Amanda were married in March 2009. |