KIMBERLY — Rock Creek Rural Fire District has hired a firefighter out of Wyoming to replace its long-beleaguered fire chief who resigned in August.
Aaron Zent will take over the fire department May 28, district Clerk Jennifer Egbert said Friday. Zent is a Rawlins, WY, fire battalion chief.
Rock Creek fire district covers 212 square miles in eastern Twin Falls County — including the cities of Kimberly, Hansen and Murtaugh — and parts of Cassia County. The department responded to 402 fire calls and 897 medical calls in 2018.
Chief Jason Keller resigned his position Aug. 31, and Interim Chief Stacey Thomas took over on Sept. 3.
Thomas, still a captain with the department, later resigned as interim chief, and long-time firefighter Assistant Fire Chief Greg Vawser stepped in.
The department has been through several rounds of applications before deciding on Zent, Egbert said.
Thomas spoke with the Times-News after Keller resigned and credited the past chief with the department’s growth in recent years.
“We wouldn’t be where we’re at had it not been for Chief Keller,” Thomas said.
But townsfolk say discord often surrounded Keller.
A wrongful-termination lawsuit filed against Keller and the Rock Creek Fire District by former training Capt. Brent Blamires was settled in January 2017 for $26,000.
Blamires claimed he was fired in January 2016 for blowing the whistle on Keller’s driving a fire district vehicle while under the influence, which led to Keller’s week-long suspension in August 2015.
Keller was a finalist to become Twin Falls’ fire chief in 2016, but the city dropped Keller from consideration over allegations in the suit.
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