The Lowdown on Chief Douglas Brinkley

Most people in the community know of Chief Douglas Brinkley at the Lansdowne Volunteer Fire Department. Many people know him from the school his children attend, or just see him around the neighborhood. I had the chance to sit down and chat with him. This is the lowdown on the fire chief of Lansdowne.

Chief Brinkley has been married to Dawn Brinkley for almost 7 years. They have two children, Jake and McKenzie. Brinkley started riding in 1987 when he was only 16 years old.  In 1993, Brinkley started volunteering at the Lansdowne Volunteer Fire Department. 

This will be his second full term as chief.  Brinkley works for the BWI Fire & Rescue department and has been there since 2001. 

He has many objectives and goals for his upcoming term. The ambulance the station currently has is in bad shape. They are hoping to get a more dependable piece of equipment so they can continue to serve the community as well as they do.  He would like to see more training for the firemen, so they can be even more efficient then they already are. The chief said, “There is always room for more improvement.”

Brinkley is on board with getting a new firehouse. If you’ve ever visited the Lansdowne Fire house, you will get a chance to see the shape that it’s in. He’s hoping to help the station become even more financially responsible. 

When I asked the chief what he wanted the people of Lansdowne to know, he said,  “Last year we had 1,047 Fire calls and over 900 ambulance/EMS calls.” It just goes to show how much we need to have a productive operating firehouse. Whenever someone needs help, they are very quick to respond and the most friendly people you will ever meet.

Some residents of Lansdowne have complained about the siren being too loud. When I asked him about it he told me that the county is hoping to reduce the number of times the siren is activated. He doesn’t think it’s a good idea to get rid of the siren all together. If something happened, such as a natural disaster or terrorist attack, there would be no way to alert the public.

Brinkley is very passionate about his position as chief. He wants to see everyone getting along and he wants to “keep the peace.” He hopes to make the firehouse everything it can be. Brinkley is the perfect person to have running LVFD. 

And right at the end of the interview, the fire alarm sounded. It was great to see LVFD in action. They do a terrific job, and with Brinkley as their chief, it can only get better.