Maurice L. Kemp has been sworn in as chief of Miami Fire-Rescue. He is the department's first African-American chief. Kemp has been with the department for 24 years and has held the positions of lieutenant, captain, assistant fire chief and deputy fire chief. In addition, in 2006 he was appointed the program chief and task-force leader for FEMA Urban Search and Rescue.

Lorin Mock, a 37-year fire-service veteran, has been named the new chief of Clay (Fla.) Fire and Rescue. He succeeds interim Chief David Motes and former Chief Frank Ennist. Mock previously served as emergency preparedness director in Jacksonville, Fla.

Don Berry has retired after 34 years of being a firefighter and 16 years as chief, all of them with the Salt Lake County (Utah.) Fire Department/Unified Fire Authority.

Rob L. McLeod was elected to serve as chairman of the Fire Department Safety Officers Association during the organization's annual business meeting. McLeod is the emergency preparedness chief for the city of Chandler, Ariz. At the same meeting, Michael Petroff, retired battalion chief from St. Louis County, Mo., was elected vice chairman and Robert J. McGill, Aerojet, was named corporate director. (Read more.)

Muscatine (Iowa) Fire Chief Steve Dalbey is retiring after nearly 30 years with the department. He has been chief since 1991.

Farmington (N.M.) Fire Chief Troy Brown voluntarily accepted a demotion after an internal affairs investigation looking into allegations of employee misconduct and cover-up found him negligent in the performance of duty. According to a local news agency, while Brown was deputy chief, he neglected to thoroughly investigate allegations that former Farmington Chief Robert Martin was embezzling from the department from 2004 to 2008.

Stroudsburg (Pa.) Fire Chief Clement "Butch" Kochanski Jr. died Sept. 30 of a heart attack. He was 60. Kochanski had been chief for 17 years and was a member of the department for 36 years.

Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment publisher C. Peter Jorgensen died of cancer at his home in Tunbridge, Vt., on Sept. 25. He was 68. In 1986 Jorgensen and his wife, Kathryn, started Historical Publications, which publishes Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment, the national fire-service industry magazine Jorgensen started in 1996. He owned Firetec Apparatus Sales from 1996 to 2002 and served on the Fire and Emergency Manufacturers and Services Association board of directors from 1998 to 2001. (Read more.)