The North Carolina Association of Fire Chiefs has recognized the Concord Fire Chief Ray Allen as its 2016 Fire Chief of the Year. The award was announced in Concord on Saturday, February 6 at the association’s annual mid-Winter conference, which has been hosted at the Concord Convention Center since 2011. The 2016 conference had over 700 attendees and vendors in attendance.

This award was conceived to recognize outstanding fire chiefs whose actions and leadership in their profession, home, community, and country serve as an example and challenge for all other chief fire executives throughout the southeast. His nomination for the award cited his leadership in regional cooperation in the form of the Concord Fire Department’s recruitment and training partnerships with surrounding jurisdictions, which allow more frequent and efficient opportunities for all involved. Additionally, the nomination praised his development of automatic aid agreements that benefit thousands of local residents and visitors.

“I am humbled and honored to receive such a prestigious award, especially when the other nominees were people I consider worthy themselves,” said Allen. “Receiving this award has emboldened me to work to protect the public trust and continue the Concord Fire Department’s long history of community service.”

Allen has served in the Concord Fire Department for his entire career, beginning as a firefighter in 1991.  In 2001, Allen’s promotion to the rank of captain added responsibility for the personnel, training, and equipment of a fire company. He became a battalion chief in 2004, where he led several companies on each shift and commanded incident responses.

In 2007, he was named deputy chief of operations, with expanded responsibilities including the overall management of daily operations. He contributed to budget preparation and administration, strategic planning, promotional processes, and station construction. He was named chief in October, 2013. In his capacity as chief, he directs 190 coworkers in meeting departmental goals and objectives, and manages a 16 million dollar budget.