A familiar face is taking the helm of the Junction City Fire Department. Troy Gammon has about 30 years of experience, and was appointed to the position Dec. 19. 

“I started as a junior firefighter here,” he said. That was in June of 1986, when he was 15. 

Gammon, a lifelong resident of the city, said he is following in the footsteps of his dad, Jerry, who had been a firefighter for a long time.

Gammon also joined the Boyle County and the Lincoln County fire departments. He also became an EMT, working with Boyle EMS for 25 years. 

His service has impacted his sons: his youngest son Tyler is waiting his turn to join the junior firefighter program at Junction City, which currently starts at 14; his older son Micah recently graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a degree in fire science and is now working in California as a fire and arson investigator.

“I’m proud of him,” Gammon said.

His wife Teresa is an EMT in Boyle and Casey counties and has also become a firefighter, and they have two daughters,  Amber and Astralla.

For the past several years, Gammon has served as assistant chief of the department, under former Chief Cory Kitchen, who  stepped down recently. Gammon’s appointment was effective Jan. 1.

“I hated to see Cory leave. He was a great chief,” Gammon said. “He’s a great person, was a knowledgeable chief and I enjoyed serving under him … I’m going to try to keep things going as good as he did. I’m following the footsteps of my dad, Chief Kitchen and my mentor, Jimmy Gipson.”

Gammon said he’s learning quickly about the administrative side of being chief of a fire department — it’s a lot more than just fighting fire, and he’s looking forward to learning more about it.

Gammon said it’s the men and women who serve as firefighters that make the department — not him.

“It’s not a good department unless you’ve got a good group to back you. I’ve got a good group; I’d like to have more like them,” he said.

He’s already been delegating jobs, Gammon said.

“I’m trying to make people feel wanted, that this is their place and they have responsibilities. They know they have a job to do,” he said.

He wants to continue making the department better.

“I want Junction Fire Department to be a place where people want to be at, are proud to volunteer at. I’m just trying to do a good job and make a good department better,” he said. “I have a great group of guys here and I would like to make it even better.”

Above all, Gammon said, he just wants to serve the city well.

“I just want to do good for people, have well-trained personnel, have good equipment — I want to give people the best we can be down here.”