Fire chief retires after 22 years

By the time of his interview with the Las Cruces Bulletin, Las Cruces fire chief Jason Smith had mostly cleared out his office.

Near the front desk in the 60-year-old Fire Station 1, Smith’s now barren workspace was once adorned with accolades and artwork constructed by his children. This is the arc Smith, retiring after 22 years in the department, wants to replicate. From a life leading Las Cruces’ fire and emergency medical response, to one of family.

In his empty office, Smith counted among his top achievements as chief the passage of the 2018 general obligation bonds, overseeing the fire department's reorganization, adding ambulance services to the department, growth of the Mobile Intergrated Health and the creation of Project LIGHT, while building out Las Cruces Fire Department’s fire prevention capacity.

Throughout Smith’s career, LCFD has had to grow as Las Cruces grew, and Smith was there for it either as a participant in growth – Smith was in LCFD’s first paramedic class in 2006 – or overseeing it, as he did with the department’s reorganization when he was deputy chief.

Being a firefighter wasn’t always in Smith’s plan. His first taste of it came when he was a teenager. Smith’s father was in the Navy, and while traveling back from Hawaii, Smith had the chance to undergo a bit of firefighting training on a ship.

“We did some firefighting training that you would do for a 12-year-old or young teenagers there, where you have a hose line and they're pumping the sea water up through it. That's what you're using for firefighting,” Smith said. “But then after that, I was really thinking about a different career path.”

He started his professional life in the business world. He graduated from the University of Texas El Paso in 2002 with a Bachelor’s in business administration.

“I was thinking of going into financial services, and I was actually working as a financial advisor when I really wasn't feeling fulfilled,” Smith said.

Things changed when a colleague suggested he look to the Las Cruces Fire Department. He was already thinking about getting more involved in the community via volunteer work. But after a few short interactions, followed by a 12-hour ride-along, Smith was in love.

“That really felt like what I was missing, as far as the team aspect and helping people, being involved with the community that was checking all the boxes,” Smith said. “And there's a lot of fun in firefighting. The camaraderie of station life is really one of the things that firefighters talk about the most, and what they most often miss.”

Indirectly, Smith contributed greatly towards the quality of station life. In his four years as chief and six years as deputy chief, Smith oversaw two new Las Cruces fire stations – both funded at the will of voters.

Voters approved a rebuild of Fire Station 3 along Valley Drive in 2018 and a new station, Fire Station 9 on the East Mesa, during Smith’s tenure. It’s one of the things he’s most proud of. Fire Station 3 opened in April 2022, while the city broke ground on Fire Station 9 in October 2024. 

“Being involved with that, and seeing the $36 million that came in for (the) Fire Station 3 replacement, the new animal shelter, the East Mesa Park, the trail system; when you look at all those things, it's like, wow, that's where I got to really spearhead something that was outside of what a fire chief would expect to be doing,” Smith said.

A crowd gathers for the retirement ceremony sending of Las Cruces Fire Department Chief Jason Smith on Jan. 31, 2025.

With Smith’s departure on Jan. 31, City Manager Ikani Taumoepeau appointed Deputy Chief Sean Heck as interim chief. In a news release, Taumoepeau and the city said they would launch a national search to replace Smith.

That person will have their work cut out for them as Las Cruces continues to evolve, Smith said.

“I think we're getting to a point where we really need to examine our EMS system and our hospital system,” Smith said.

As the community grows and health services scale up, Smith noted that they become a magnet for smaller communities looking for treatment. He said that people in need of treatment will look more and more to Las Cruces.

With that, emergency services will need to have the ability to transfer patients in and out of Las Cruces with ease. Other systems, like 911 call centers, will also have to expand to meet increased demand.

LCFD already sees high demand for services, Smith noted, attributing that to a combination of poverty and older residents both needing LCFD.

But Smith’s parting message was twofold, in part for firefighting and in part for emergency medical services.

“On the EMS side, we need to continue to be advocates for our patients and we need to provide the best care we can throughout the entire system, from the 911 call-taker all the way up to hospital. We need to advocate for our patients and take care of them.

“On the fire side, when it comes to resources, we try to be very diligent with the public's money. We need to continue to be funded for the type of services they want to see and public wants to have.”