Pastor Ken Clift named Chaplain of Fort Thomas Fire Department

posted on October 17

Article and Photo by Robin Gee, Fort Thomas Matters - City Council Beat Editor  

Former firefighter/paramedic Ken Clift is coming home to serve his former employer in a unique way. Now a pastor at Melbourne United Methodist church in Melbourne, Kentucky, he will serve as the Fort Thomas Fire Department’s first official department chaplain. 

The announcement about the formation of the department’s new chaplain program came at the September 17 city council meeting. 
 
"It’s great to be back home," said Clift. "It’s been 25 years since I retired, and I spent 15 years here at the Fire Department. One of the best times of my life was being a firefighter paramedic. It’s great to be able to serve in this capacity. Thank you all very much for this opportunity." 

City Administrator Ron Dill and Mayor Eric Haas have been working on establishing a program and said they were happy to begin with Clift at the helm. 

"This is a volunteer position for our Fire Department and designed to support our first responders. We have instances unfortunately where they are involved with traumatic situations and have to deal with those on a professional level and a personal level. So we’re hopeful having this resource available to them to help support them in those situations," said Dill.

Dill said Clift was the perfect candidate for the position, and he was excited to bring him on board.