Fire Chief Retires After 22-Year Career with City

Jason Smith, Chief of the Las Cruces Fire Department since November 30, 2021, is retiring after 22 years of service to the City.

Smith announced his retirement in December 2024. His last day on the job is Jan. 31, 2025.

The City has named Deputy Chief Sean Heck as interim chief until a permanent replacement is selected from a nationwide search.

Smith graduated from LCFD’s fire academy in 2002 and rose through the ranks. During his career, he served as a firefighter, driver/operator, lieutenant, battalion chief and deputy chief of operations before being named interim fire chief in November 2020. He was named fire chief three months later.

Smith’s tenure with the Las Cruces Fire Department has been marked by tremendous growth. As deputy chief, Smith oversaw the department’s division of shifts into two battalions and helped in the planning of the East Mesa Public Safety Complex – a joint fire and police building on Sonoma Ranch Boulevard.

Smith was instrumental in the approval of two general obligation bonds, in 2018 and 2022, that paved the way for construction of two new fire stations: Fire Station 3 on Valley Drive that replaced a 55-year-old building and Fire Station 9 that’s currently under construction on north Sonoma Ranch Boulevard.

Smith is credited with helping LCFD receive grants that funded nine additional firefighter positions and a paramedic training program. He also helped guide the department through the Covid-19 pandemic.

All the while, Smith has helped LCFD maintain its status as one of the premiere fire departments in the United States with an Insurance Services Office rating of 1. The ISO-1 rating is the best rating a community can receive for its fire protection with only 125 fire departments in the country claiming an ISO-1 rating.