Sunnyvale swears in first female full-time fire chief in North Texas
SUNNYVALE, Texas - The town of Sunnyvale in far east Dallas County made history Monday as it swore in its first female fire chief. She's also the first woman in North Texas to serve as a fire chief.
Tami Kayea was sworn in as Sunnyvale's fire chief, taking the place of Doug Kendrick, who announced his retirement in August. She was announced as the pick to take over the fire chief role on December 20.
"I had always thought about one day being a chief. Though I never really thought about leaving DFR. Even when this came out, I wasn’t actively looking," she said.
Kayea has served the last 27 years with Dallas Fire-Rescue, rising from valedictorian of her academy class in 1996 to the rank of deputy chief.
"I actually was a high school teacher first, taught sophomore, senior English, worked during the summer with some off-duty firefighters. And they're the ones who said, ‘Forget teaching. You need to join the fire department,’" she recalled.
Fire service was always in Kayea's blood. She is the fourth generation in her family to serve in fire rescue.
"It’s just amazing to see how she’s come through all the years," said her dad, Terry Bloss. "Because I remember her pulling me in my pickup up a hill with a firehose attached to it training for all this. Now, she’s got her own department."
"My dad never actually suggested it, but once I said I wanted to do it, then he was really excited about it," Kayea said.
Kayea is a licensed paramedic with a husband, two sons and a granddaughter.
"I love spending time with them and then, you know, kind of my own things that I love to do. I love woodworking and DIY and I love football," she said with a laugh.
Kayea has been on the front lines. On July 7, 2016, she was in charge of DFR's operations on the night five police officers were killed, and nine people were injured.
"It certainly impacted all of us, and it's one of those events that you know, stays with you," she said.
Kayea worked through her emotions following that by writing a song she titled "A Tear Falls." She brings all she's learned and lived to the department and community.
"As they grow, and they start to need more services and different services, my experience from Dallas, having provided a greater variety of service, I'm hoping can really benefit the town here," said Kayea.
Kayea is now the first female fire chief for a full-time department in North Texas and one of only five female chiefs in the state.
Bloss shared the advice he gave Kayea once she got further into her career.
"When she got into the officers’ ranks, the main thing I told her was, ‘You take care of your people, and they will take care of you,’" he said.
Sunnyvale's town manager, Jeff Jones, says their nationwide search for a new chief lasted three months.
"We really weren’t trying to make history when we hired Tami. We wanted to hire the very best and the very brightest and we did that," he said.
Kayea says while she's grateful for her time at Dallas Fire-Rescue, there were some sacrifices that had to be made like the tight-knit brotherhood and community involvement.
"That’s what appealed to me here was the two things I couldn’t get at Dallas when I’d gotten everything else I could get here," she said.
For Kayea, the challenge will be moving the department forward and planning ahead as the Sunnyvale community grows and the department along with it.