Ken Tuggle’s done it all and then some in his 30-plus years career, 28 with Rural Metro and two years as a young volunteer firefighter in his tiny hometown of Meridian, Texas, population 1,145 – give or take a few. “It still does not have a stoplight.” And today, at age 54, he says “I’ve reached the pinnacle of my career.”
Two weeks ago, Rural Metro announced Tuggle’s promotion as the department’s new deputy chief of operations. That title makes him Rural Metro’s No. 2 in its command structure. This major promotion places him in charge of the day-to-day operations of the 17 stations sprinkled throughout Knox County plus the approximately 170 firefighters at those stations. Rural Metro’s 11 battalion chiefs report directly to him and he reports directly to Rural Metro Fire Chief Jeff Devlin, who had Tuggle’s position until he succeeded retired Chief Jerry Harnish.
Deputy Chief/ Operations Ken Tuggle with Battalion Chief Lee Yager (right) and firefighter Jayce Dorman (left)
It’s a 24/7/365 responsibility for Tuggle, a combination of being in the field when necessary and being behind his desk on the second floor of Rural Metro Fire headquarters at Station 41, 160 N. Campbell Station Road in Farragut.
He was first an EMT and then earned his paramedic certification in 1992 in Meridian before moving to Knoxville in 1996 when Rural Metro recruited him. Prior to 1992 he was in the U.S. Navy, joining in 1987 just after his high school graduation.
He served for four years on the USS Coral Sea aircraft carrier, launched in 1946 in Newport News, Virginia, and decommissioned on April 26, 1990. Tuggle was part of the decommissioning crew, he said. His interest in the fire profession began on the Coral Sea.
When he arrived in Knoxville, he began working for Rural Metro Ambulance and in 1998 he transferred to Rural Metro Fire. Then he began climbing the ladder – promoted to lieutenant in 2003 and captain in 2008. In 2013, he was promoted to battalion chief and has served as the training chief for 10 years until very recently when he spent 10 months as an interim deputy chief of operations.
“This is it for me, a job I’ve always wanted. I’ll retire from this job and I’m ready for this challenge,” he said. “I’ll enjoy it because of the influence it has on all of our fire, medical and rescue operations and our personnel.”
Did this pinnacle promotion lead to a big celebration? “No no, not at all. We slapped a couple of steaks on the grill,” he said. “We’re pretty low key.”
Tuggle and wife Debi, a trauma nurse at the UT Medical Center, are Farragut residents. Their daughters – Kelsie, 24, and Katie, 22, – are Farragut High School graduates and both played softball at FHS. Kelsie is working on a doctorate in physical chemistry at UT and Katie a degree in occupational therapy at LMU.
Tuggle is the oldest of five boys and growing up in rural Texas had its exciting moments. He and his buddies enjoyed rounding up and catching rattlesnakes and selling them to the local Lions club, which then sold them for their skins and meat. Many in Texas enjoy eating rattlesnake meat, including Tuggle. “Man, I love it, always have,” he said. He and his friends were good at it, too – no one was ever bitten or even had close calls.
Training firefighters has aways been a passion, so much so that he started his own training company 7½ years ago – Emergency Response Solutions LLC. He presents all-hazards emergency response training throughout the U.S. for fire departments and other agencies. His most recent training was in Idaho.
He’s also on the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) Hazardous Materials Committee and has been a HazMat trainer and program developer for TEMA for 14 years. Since 2017 he has been a contract educator at the National Fire Academy, headquartered in Maryland and run by FEMA.
The career and the job, he says, have been perfect for him. “Rural Metro has a great support structure and it’s like a family. Sometimes it’s like a frat party,” he said. “But bottom line – it’s all about bringing comfort to people when they need us the most, no matter the emergency. When people in the community are hurting, down and it’s a dark time we want to be there for them.”
And Fire Chief Devlin gives an appropriate wrap to this Hero story: “Ken is a highly respected and accomplished fire officer. His promotion to deputy chief has received tremendous approval within Rural Metro and the greater fire service community. It’s a testament to his dedication and how he treats those around him.”
Tom King has been the editor of newspapers in Texas and California and also worked in Tennessee and Georgia. If you have someone you think we should consider featuring, please email him at the link with his name or text him at 865-659-3562.