Kettering fire chief retiring, replacement named

The 55-year-old Butts, who has been fire chief since 2016, oversaw the department’s modernization plan that included the building and opening of four new fire stations, an estimated $30 million project, according to a city news release.

“His passion for fire services and public safety is admirable; and, his remarkable ability to connect with and empower people is unmatched,” Kettering City Manager Mark Schwieterman said in a statement.

From 2016 to 2018, the city opened Stations Nos. 32 on Far Hills Avenue; 34 on Woodman Drive; 36, the department’s headquarters on Hempstead Station Drive; and 37 on West Dorothy Lane.

Kettering’s previous fire stations were an average of more than 40 years old and lacked the space or land to allow for improvements, city officials said. Those stations were undersized for modern trucks, devoid of mixed-gender facilities for 24/7 operations and did not meet ADA standards, according to the city.

Robbins, 48, will be appointed the new chief immediately upon Butts' retirement, the city said in an announcement Tuesday afternoon.

Robbins has served the Kettering Fire Department since 1999, holding the positions of firefighter/paramedic, captain and battalion chief before earning his current title in 2016, the city said.

He is a graduate of the Ohio Fire Executive Program and Sinclair Community College, where he earned an associate’s degree in emergency medical services/fire science.