Former Merced fire chief takes interim reins in Fresno. He’s been in department 2 years
Former Merced fire chief Billy Alcorn has been named to serve as the Fresno Fire Department’s interim chief, the city announced Friday afternoon.
Alcorn begins his new assignment March 2 and will take over for Chief Kerri Donis, who is retiring after leading the department for nine years.
Alcorn was hired in Fresno as deputy fire chief in 2021, working first in the Prevention & Support Services division before being assigned recently to oversee FFD’s operations division. Between now and March, he will be working closely with Donis on a transition stage as a nationwide search for a permanent replacement is conducted, city manager Georgeanne White said.
Alcorn is a 2002 graduate of Merced High School who joined the Merced Fire Department in 2004, rising through the ranks from firefighter to engineer to captain, then to battalion chief and deputy chief before his appointment as the top chief in 2019. He was Merced’s firefighter of the year in 2009.
During Alcorn’s tenure in Merced, the department expanded its outreach to community organizations to solicit donations to buy needed equipment including a pair of mechanical CPR machines. Local Girl Scouts in Merced also donated pet masks to allow firefighters to provide oxygen to pets rescued from fires.
Recruitment was also boosted to attract graduates of the fire program at Merced College to the department, and there was an expanded focus on professional development and health for Merced’s firefighters in recent years.
This story was originally published January 20, 2023 at 4:20 PM with the headline "Former Merced fire chief takes interim reins in Fresno. He’s been in department 2 years."
