Defined By Fire: Waco’s new fire chief comes from a family of firefighters, brings decades of experience

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Children dream of putting on the gear, sliding down the pole and jumping on a fire engine, sirens blazing.

While most of us live it out at Halloween, a few take on the challenge for life, along with all the physical demands and dangers.

When that happens for a hometown native, the demands and expectations are that much greater.

Waco Fire Department Chief Robby Bergerson was a stranger to fear. Strength was in his bloodline thanks to a family of firefighters who sparked his courage.

“I’m one of those people that have always had that dream since I was a little kid. I can remember always wanting to serve in the fire service. I had some family members in Ohio in the fire department,” said Bergerson.

However, Bergerson decided to take his dedication to Texas, starting his career in Austin.

Then, he served in Travis County and the city of Taylor before landing in Waco in 1997.

For Bergerson, it’s hard to pick what he loves most about his dream job and dedicating his life to others.

“I think just interacting with the community and getting to stand alongside the great men and women of the fire department,” said Bergerson.

He said within his 30 year career, his biggest lesson is learning urgency is everything when lives are on the line.

“Be prepared and be prepared for anything and not take any situation lightly. Sometimes when we become too complacent, it has bad effects on our operations,” said Bergerson.

Bergerson broke barriers within the department like adding cancer prevention gear and getting rid of cancer causing fire foam, making Waco fire one of the first departments in the country to do so.

His selflessness and expertise allowed Waco city council to confidently have Bergerson go from interim fire chief to fire chief in a matter of four months, making Bergerson the sole finalist out of 100 candidates.

“You have to have the right skills set, the timing has to be right, the desire has to be right. It’s all going to line up. It seems like everything lined up here and I’m so happy,” said Mayor Jim Holmes.

“Chief Bergerson brings more than three decades of fire service experience, including nearly 28 years with the Waco Fire Department. He has served at every level within the organization—from Firefighter to Executive Deputy Chief—giving him a well-rounded understanding of both frontline operations and executive leadership,” said assistant city manager, Ryan Holt, “I have full confidence that under Chief Bergerson’s leadership, the Waco Fire Department will continue to uphold its tradition of excellence while evolving to meet the changing needs of our city. We are fortunate to have someone of his caliber leading this essential service.”

Bergeron is the first Waco fire chief to come from the ranks in 10 years.

Waco fire communications officer, Philip Burnett, said with Bergerson knowing the fire department and the city like the back of his hand, the transition was seamless.

“When you are raised in a department and you know the ins and outs of the day-to-day operations, you’re day one ready. Without having to explain how things work around here, what policies are corrected. Chief Bergerson has had a hand in a lot of the policies that were already here,” said Burnett.

Bergerson said being an in-house chief not only adds confidence to his team members, but inspiration as well.

“Members can see that you can start at the lowest rank as a firefighter, work hard, and work your way up to the top position,” said Bergerson.

Bergerson said Waco fire covers a lake, two rivers, two airports, along with typical emergency calls, which is more coverage compared to different agencies.

Bergerson describes Waco fire as operating on an island, meaning there’s not much close help, which forces first responders to be prepared for almost any possibility.

In June, Bergerson stated his case to council members as to why they need to apply to the Safer Grant.

It’s a $3 million grant to fund 15 new firefighter positions, 12 of them will staff the brand-new heavy rescue truck.

“A part of that grant application was to add an additional firefighter on each of the three shifts at fire station 12 to give it a total of a four-person staffing daily. That will enable us to not rely on backup fire stations as much before making entry into a burning building,” said Bergerson.

Bergerson said since Fire Station 4 on Speight Avenue is an older building, it will be moved to La Salle Avenue in August.

Bergerson said Waco fire needs these resources since some of his team feel the pressure from the 22,000 calls a year.

“There’s times where it strains the system for sure, especially during extreme weather. It can cause a lot of calls in a short amount of time, sometimes overlapping incidents. So, we may have multiple structure fires at the same time, which really strains our resources,” said Bergerson.

Bergerson said he’s ready to fill the gaps and push the department forward.

He said rising the ranks not only takes patience but looking within yourself.

“I’ve had ups and downs. I’ve always tell people you can either get bitter or get better. I’ve always tried to do self-reflection and just improve myself for next time,” said Bergerson.

The groundbreaking for Station 4’s new location will be August 7 at 10 a.m. on 801 LaSalle.

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