Walker has a new fire chief. City commissioners voted Monday to appoint David Moore, a 30-year veteran of fire and emergency-response work who most recently served as chief of fire aviation for the Texas A&M Forest Service, to lead the department starting in mid-December. The appointment fills a post that has sat in interim hands since former Fire Chief Russell “Rusty” Shoultz died suddenly in May.
The city partnered with Strategic Government Resources to run a national search that reviewed 21 candidates before narrowing the field to three finalists, who were interviewed in an open meeting on Oct. 12, according to WOODTV. Those finalists were Scotty Bush, the former fire chief in Hendersonville, Tennessee; Moore, who came from Ohio; and Sean Canto, fire chief in Ottumwa, Iowa, with the sessions held at Walker City Hall's Commission Chambers, as WWMT reported. Moore was ultimately selected during the Walker City Commission meeting on Oct. 26, and he is expected to start Dec. 14.
Moore's career spans local, state, federal and international fire and emergency-response programs. He previously served as operations branch director and incident commander for the U.S. Forest Service's fire and aviation management program, overseeing wildfire and national disaster responses, and he also worked as deputy state fire marshal in Montana, assistant state fire marshal for Ohio, and lieutenant and director of personnel for Wyoming Fire-EMS. He was fire chief of the Glendale Fire Department in Ohio, where he led a reorganization of the department following its shutdown, and he founded and led the Africa Fire Mission, an international community fire-prevention organization, according to his resume.
A Department in Transition After Shoultz's Death
Moore steps into a department still adjusting to the loss of Shoultz, who started as Walker's fire chief in July 2025 and died after a medical emergency in May 2026 at age 52, WOODTV reported. Keith Mankel provided interim leadership for the fire department throughout the national search. Shoultz had arrived in Walker with 34 years of public safety experience, according to MLive.
Shoultz had championed Walker's shift to around-the-clock fire coverage, which began in October 2025 as the first time the department had been staffed 24 hours a day since 1937. He believed the change would help firefighters respond more quickly to emergencies across the city, part of a broader move toward a more full-time department supported by equally trained paid-on-call firefighters. In 2024 alone, firefighters responded to nearly 900 calls for service and installed nearly 400 smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, figures tied to a city that has seen 119% growth in state equalized value between 2015 and 2025.
Police Department Also Sees Leadership Change
The fire chief announcement arrived alongside another major personnel shift at city hall: Brandyn Heugel, currently deputy chief of the Walker Police Department, was appointed interim police chief and will transition into the role Nov. 1. Heugel has served with the department for nearly 28 years and was promoted to deputy chief in December 2025.
Heugel's elevation comes as Police Chief Keith Mankel retires after 33 years of service, with his departure also effective Nov. 1. Mayor Gary Carey said Moore and Heugel bring the experience and leadership needed to lead Walker's public safety teams and build on the city's progress, adding that finding a successor to Shoultz would not come easily but that the process marked an important step for Walker's future.
Moore holds a bachelor's degree in fire and safety engineering from the University of Cincinnati, an associate's degree in fire science technology from Westmoreland County Community College, and master's degrees in public administration and nonprofit management from Northern Kentucky University. He will lead the Walker Fire Department following the vacancy left by Shoultz's death, with his first day on the job set for Dec. 14.
