Les Stephens Hired as New San Marcos Fire Chief

The San Marcos City Council confirmed the appointment of Les Stephens, a Battalion Chief in the Garland, Texas Fire Department, as the new Fire Chief for the city of San Marcos on Tuesday. City Manager Rick Menchaca selected Stephens, 36, for the post after a nationwide search this spring. He will begin work in San Marcos on August 1.

“I am happy to bring a person with Les Stephens’ experience and enthusiasm for the fire service to our department. His training background will further prepare our Fire Department,” said Menchaca.

San Marcos Fire Rescue employs 51 professional firefighters and four administrative personnel, including the Fire Chief, Assistant Chief, Division Chief and Administrative Coordinator.

Stephens is a 20 year veteran of the fire service, starting as a volunteer firefighter with the River Oaks Fire Department as a teenager. At 18 he joined the Garland Fire Department. Over the past 18 years, he has served as a firefighter, paramedic, driver/ engineer, lieutenant, captain and battalion chief. The Dallas suburb of Garland has 247 fire personnel and operates 11 fire stations.

Chief Stephens has an Associate’s Degree in Fire Protection from Tarrant County College and is currently enrolled in the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program.

He holds numerous fire service certifications, including Master Firefighter, Fire Officer I, Fire Officer II, Intermediate Instructor, Hazardous Materials Technician and Licensed Paramedic. Stephens taught in a variety of fire academies and authored articles for national fire service publications.

He served as the Training Lieutenant for the Garland Fire Department and as an instructor at the Dallas Fire Department’s recruit academy. He has been an instructor at Texas A&M University’s Municipal Fire School, the Fire Department Instructors Conference in Indianapolis and the Collin College Fire Science Program.

In addition to his duties as an instructor at Collin College, he has also worked the last several years as the In-Service Operations Coordinator. In that capacity, he has been responsible for planning, scheduling and coordinating training classes for several departments throughout the North Texas area, including Plano, McKinney and Allen.

Stephens and Battalion Chief Stuart Grant of the Dallas Fire - Rescue Department, have also authored numerous articles for fire service publications and taught many contract classes for departments throughout Texas.

Stephens is married to his high school sweetheart, Marcia, and they have two children, Wyatt, age 5 and Lexie, age 2.

Mayor Susan Narvaiz and the City Council will hold a swearing-in ceremony for Chief Stephens in early August.