PHOTO #1: Victoria Fire Department Battalion Chief Tim Hunter, right, accepts a plaque from Fire Chief Tracy Fox in honor of his retirement during a ceremony Jan. 28 at Victoria Fire Department Station Four, 2007 Salem Road.
PHOTO #2: Victoria Fire Department employees pose for a photo during a retirement ceremony for Battalion Chief Tim Hunter on Jan. 28 at Victoria Fire Department Station Four, 2007 Salem Road.
PHOTO #3: City leaders, fire department employees and others in attendance applaud during a retirement ceremony for Battalion Chief Tim Hunter on Jan. 28 at Victoria Fire Department Station Four, 2007 Salem Road.
Victoria Fire Department Battalion Chief Tim Hunter was honored for 31 years of service during a retirement ceremony Jan. 28 at Victoria Fire Department Station Four, 2007 Salem Road. Fire department employees, city leadership and family members attended the ceremony. Fire Chief Tracy Fox thanked Hunter for his service and presented him with a commemorative plaque.
Hunter began his career with the Victoria Fire Department in 1991 as an emergency medical technician, and he played a leading role during the merging of firefighting and EMS services. He has also served as a lieutenant, Administrative Services captain and Training captain, and he was promoted to battalion chief in 2018. As battalion chief, he oversaw the implementation of the fire department’s whole blood transfusion program; at the time, the Victoria Fire Department was one of fewer than 20 agencies in the U.S. to offer this lifesaving treatment. He also led the City’s COVID-19 employee testing and contact tracing program as well as the City’s internal vaccination effort. He also oversaw the introduction of the lights and sirens reduction program, the body camera program and an employee health program that includes annual physicals and cancer screening.