KYLE — Kyle Taylor, chief of the Kyle Fire Department, was nominated for and awarded the 2024 Fire Chief of the Year award by the Texas Fire Chiefs Association April 16, following more than 20 years of service.
Originally, Taylor was inspired by his uncle to become a volunteer firefighter during his time in high school. He volunteered until college, where he studied to become a software engineer.
“I did that for about 10 years, [then] got married. [I] told my wife, ‘Hey, I’m going to volunteer at the new fire department down here,’” said Taylor. “I started volunteering again and it just led me to leaving the software industry [and] becoming a full-time firefighter.”
After starting his career in Red Oak, Taylor then moved to Dripping Springs, where he was hired as a battalion chief. According to the Kyle Fire Department, Taylor was hired in 2013 as the chief of Hays County ESD No. 5.
“We were in a transition from a volunteer/paid department to a full-time department and he brought all that under his belt experience,” said Freddy Rolon, KFD assistant fire chief. “[Taylor knew] how to give us the framework and develop us into the organization we are today.”
When Rolon started at the Kyle Fire Department as a volunteer in 2009, there were two stations. Now, there are four.
“One of the biggest challenges in Kyle has always been the growth, making sure that we can keep up with the call volume increases and everything else in the new neighborhoods [and] new businesses,” said Taylor.
According to the chief, the support from his family has made a big difference in his career, as well as the support from the community.
“[My family has] always supported me in this role [and] my wife supported me becoming a full-time firefighter from the very beginning,” said Taylor. “The community here is awesome. The fire department’s always been in a positive light and that’s one of the things we strive for, is to keep that positive light that we have always had and keep our community safe. One of the hardest things to build back up is your reputation if you lose it. So, our goal is to never lose it.”
Taylor was awarded the 2024 Fire Chief of the Year award by the Texas Fire Chiefs Association in spring of 2025. According to Rolon, he and another assistant fire chief secretly nominated Taylor for the award, where the chief competed against 13 to 14 others. The winner is determined via votes, said Rolon, following a review of nomination letters: “A lot of fire chiefs across Texas look at the different letters of nomination and, when they saw all the good things that shifted or [work] that he has done for us and the transformation that he’s created in this department, [as well as] the input at state level, I think it was an easy decision to make.”
“It was a total shock to me,” recalled Taylor. “I did not know I was nominated until [the Texas Fire Chiefs Association] called and said that I won it. Somehow, the staff here kept that from me [and] my family kept that from me. It was a total shock … It’s a huge, humbling experience, I guess not even knowing I was nominated for it made it even more shocking. But words can’t really describe this award.”
“Knowing Chief Taylor personally and working with him, hand to hand, I know the significant impact that he has done for our department, not only us here in Kyle, Texas, but Chief Taylor has impacted the entire fire service across the Texas state,” said Rolon. “So, I feel confident that he was a candidate for that award.”
Rolon also credited Taylor with building the department up to where it is today.
“He took us to the next level [of] professionalism and respect as a department … He created the Office of Fire Prevention [and] he created the community outreach [program] to help the community get better information,” said Rolon. “He created the training division to better train our department, but not only our department … We have an agreement with Hays CISD and we have a fire academy and high school students that come here from the three high schools that get educated in a two year program and if they pass all the certifications, they can be certified and [become] firefighters serving their respective communities. So, again, a lot under Chief Taylor’s belt.”
Taylor attributes much of his inspiration and drive to keep going to his crew.
“Some days are really tough with the number of calls and everything, but the guys always push each other and it makes its way to the top, where the motivation to keep going and keep taking care of the family and the guys — it's just a big part of it,” said Taylor.
Taylor is the third chief in Hays County in recent history to receive this award. Previously, the Buda fire chief, as well as the San Marcos fire chief have earned this title.
“We’re lucky to have that leadership; I need to say that we have the best of the three and we’re proud of him,” concluded Rolon.
For more information about Kyle Fire Department, visit www.kylefire.com.
