HOPKINSVILLE KY, (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – Hopkinsville Fire Chief Steve Futrell has been with the HFD since 1999. Being born and raised in Hopkinsville, Futrell graduated from Hopkinsville High and, as soon as he turned 21, joined the service.
Futrell became fire chief in 2019 after holding several positions. “I went through the ranks from lieutenant, to captain, to deputy chief, and was promoted to chief when Chief (Freddie) Montgomery left for Clarksville,” Futrell said.
Since being selected by Mayor Carter Hendricks in 2019, Futrell has made several changes to his department, with one of the biggest ones being dividing EMS and fire. Previously, all of Hopkinsville firefighters did EMS alongside their fire duties, explains Futrell. “I separated them and divided these departments, which allowed us to hire EMS-only employees and allowed for our firefighters who just wanted to be firefighters to do that.”
Along with separating fire and EMS, Futrell has added 27 female employees to the department. “This is huge for the fire side,” Futrell said. “It has helped us grow our department for people who want to do one job specifically.”
Hopkinsville Fire is one of the busiest fire departments in the state with over 14,000 calls a year, according to Futrell. “We are very busy and we are growing,” Futrell said. “All of the time we are growing.”
Currently, HFD has four stations in Hopkinsville and Oak Grove. The department is looking to build their fifth station by the Walmart distribution center. “Most people don’t realize it but the city has annexed Fort Campbell Boulevard all the way to I-24, so those neighborhoods are our responsibility for fire,” Futrell said. “It was important to me that we had fire protection on that end of the county, the southern end.”
Futrell was named state fire chief of the year in 2022. “That was a good personal accomplishment, but really it was for the department and what they do,” Futrell said.
Hopkinsville Fire Department has people within the department to teach their students paramedic skills, EMT skills, and critical care skills. They have classrooms and are able to teach classes, offering training to outside groups as well.
This makes HFD one of the four departments in the state that are allowed to do that. Having in-house instructors and applying for accreditation allowed for HFD to teach their own paramedics. “There is a shortage of paramedics in the nation,” Futrell said. “We had to create our own, and we are very proud of that.”
With 104 people on staff and looking to grow, Futrell’s main goal as fire chief is to fight for anything he and his department may need. “Anytime I have asked for something, the county or city has provided,” Futrell said. “Everyone has supported us, and the community is a tight group.”
Overall, the department sees about 11,000 EMS calls and 3,000 fire calls a year. “Lately, in the last two weeks we have received four structure fire calls, which is a lot in two weeks,” Futrell said. “However, we know we are coming into the fire season where people are starting to turn on their heaters for the first time and maybe haven’t cleaned them out.”
Outside of being fire chief, Futrell enjoys spending time outdoors and hanging with his two sons who are both in the military.