News Release

Shane Crutcher Selected as NPS Structural Fire Chief

Shane Crutcher has been named as the new NPS structural fire branch chief.

Image courtesy of K. Crutcher

News Release Date: February 4, 2021

Contact: Tina Boehle, 208-387-5875

Shane Crutcher, installation fire chief at Fort Belvoir Fire and Emergency services in northern Virginia, has been named as the new chief of structural fire for the National Park Service (NPS). He succeeds Brian Johnson, who retired in October 2020.

Shane began his firefighting career as a volunteer firefighter in Hardin County, Kentucky in 1996. A year later, he started his federal firefighting career with the Department of the Army at Fort Knox Fire Department. He spent 12 years there, with a break at a municipal department and a year in Afghanistan as a station captain working for a contractor in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. During this time, he was also a fire service instructor and served as an arson investigator.

In April 2016, Shane began as the deputy director of Emergency Services for the US Army Garrison in Stuttgart, Germany. Shane enjoyed his time working under a highly talented and motivated garrison team while overseeing all aspects of fire, law enforcement, and physical security for the five geographically separated installations, as well as maintaining working relationships with host nation partners. Prior to his departure from Stuttgart in March 2018, he was promoted to the director of Emergency Services.

Shane transitioned back into the firehouse in April 2018 as the fire chief at Fort Belvoir. Since then, he has led the effort in agency accreditation with the Center for Public Safety Excellence, only one of eight fire departments in the Army to become accredited. This process assisted in securing additional staffing and validating the agency's many programs and efforts. His team earned recognition as the Regional Fire Department of the Year in 2020 for the Army. For the past three years, Shane has traveled to various installations as an exercise evaluator for the Army and providing feedback for agency improvement. He serves on the Regional Northern Virginia Emergency Response Steering Committee and the Northern Virginia Fire Chief's Committee and is an active member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC). Within IAFC, he supports various sections and committees.

“I’m really looking forward to working with Shane, he comes highly recommended to the NPS. His curiosity, enthusiasm, and variety of experiences are well-suited for program leadership within our division and achieving the NPS structural fire vision for the next 5-10 years, stated William Kaage, chief for the NPS Division of Fire and Aviation.

“Collectively, I have been able to experience paid, volunteer, contract, federal and municipal structural firefighting. I hope to bring those experiences and leadership to the NPS. I look forward to the challenge and am excited to be joining the team,” Shane stated.

Shane is a graduate of the Army Management Staff College advanced and intermediate courses. He is an alumnus of the National Fire Academy Leadership and Arson Investigation programs. His philosophy as a leader is to take care of people. When off duty, he enjoys spending time with his family and being at the baseball field. He has been married for 19 years to his wife Keri and they have two kids, Cooper, 13 and Kieran, 9. Shane will be joining the staff in Boise, Idaho in February 2021.