Fire Chief

LAFAYETTE FIRE DEPARTMENT
Earl Borden, Fire Chief

Earl Borden was appointed as Fire Chief for the Lafayette Fire Department in April 2026, bringing more than two decades of progressive fire service leadership, executive management experience, and operational expertise to one of Louisiana’s largest and most respected fire departments.

Chief Borden most recently served as Fire Chief of the St. Bernard Parish Fire Department, where he led a career department of more than 100 personnel and oversaw multimillion-dollar budgets, strategic planning initiatives, capital improvements, emergency operations, and organizational modernization efforts. During his tenure, the department advanced numerous initiatives in staffing, technology, apparatus replacement, facilities, training, and emergency preparedness.

A lifelong fire service professional, Chief Borden began his career as a firefighter in St. Bernard Parish and has served in numerous leadership assignments involving training, special operations, safety, and executive administration. He is widely recognized as a progressive leader focused on accountability, modernization, leadership development, and improving service delivery to the communities he serves.

Chief Borden also has extensive disaster response and specialized operations experience through Louisiana Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue, where he has served in multiple command and leadership roles during state and national deployments. His background includes incident management, interagency coordination, and large-scale emergency response operations.

Committed to continual growth and professional excellence, Chief Borden is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program, the IAFC Fire Service Executive Development Institute, and holds the Chief Fire Officer designation through the Center for Public Safety Excellence. He has also served as an adjunct university instructor teaching emergency management and public administration coursework.

Academically, he holds a Master of Science in Fire and Emergency Management Administration, along with bachelor’s degrees in Public Administration and Emergency & Disaster Management. His doctoral studies have focused on organizational leadership and workforce development within the fire service.