Merced Fire Chief leaving department after three years. ‘It’s time to move on’
Merced Fire Chief Derek Parker, who helped secure millions of dollars in funding that brought additional firefighters and got a paramedic training program started at the local college level, is leaving the department.
The Merced native said he is taking a position as an assistant chief with the Sacramento Fire Department.
Parker previously served as Battalion Chief in Sacramento before returning to his hometown as Fire Chief in 2021.
Parker said it’s tough to leave, especially from a personal standpoint. His family owned Parker’s Hardware for decades.
“I have lifelong friends, there are some very good characters in the department,” Parker said. “I’m going back to Sacramento, professionally that’s where I grew up.”
A trained paramedic, Parker said one of his goals when he took over as Chief was to bring more paramedics to the department.
Parker and Battalion Chief Mickey Brunelli worked with Merced College president Chris Vitelli to get the college to start a paramedic training program in 2022.
“To recruit a paramedic program here to the college is a big deal,” Parker said. “It took two guys in the department to start the process. That’s something that could last for 50 years.”
Parker started his career in 1995 at the McKee Fire Station, working as a firefighter for Merced County Fire Department.
Parker said he’s proud of the changes he’s made to the infrastructure of the department. He pointed to progress in the communication infrastructure, policy changes, plans for future advance life support and future fire stations.
“There’s a lot of things we’ve worked on that are coming to fruition,” Parker said.
According to city officials, Parker also helped secure funds for the department for training facilities, new stations and to bring on new firefighters.
Some of those funds include $4 million in funding from State Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria for a new fire station and emergency operations center in response to the critical need for enhanced emergency services.
The department also received $3 million in funding from Senator Anna Caballero for the Hawk Regional Training Center, a regional fire academy and public safety training facility that will include firefighter, rescue, and emergency response education.
The Merced Fire Department also received $9 million in a SAFER grant from FEMA under Parker for the hiring of 24 additional firefighters, bringing the department up to four-person engine crews.
In addition, Parker was instrumental in coordinating the City of Merced’s planning and response efforts during the January and March 2023 flood events.
“We’ve made a lot of progress, Parker said, “but it’s time to move on.”
