OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (April 6, 2020) – Oak Ridge Fire Department Captain Joe Kust is retiring on April 17, 2020, with more than 30 years of government fire service.
After spending 15 years at the Department of Energy (DOE) – Rocky Flats Plutonium Plant Fire Department in Colorado, he transferred to the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) Fire Department where he served as a Fire Commander.
In June of 2007, Captain Kust was hired by the City of Oak Ridge as a part of the transition of the DOE – ETTP Fire Department into the City of Oak Ridge Municipal department.
For the last 13 years, Captain Kust has served as the DOE Liaison Officer for the Fire Department at ETTP.
He was responsible for attending the daily UCOR planning (POD) meetings and assisting with emergency management during an on-site response at ETTP. Captain Kust assisted with several large incidents while stationed at ETTP and was the city’s on-site liaison officer for the History Center built on the second floor of the Fire Station.
His final major achievement at Fire Station 4 was oversight of the remodeling of the Fire Station.
“Kust and Firefighter Jeff Hackney were on site daily and with their resources, saved the City thousands of dollars during the $500,000-worth of upgrades to the Fire Station,” Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said.
We take this opportunity to thank Captain Kust for his dedication to the overall operations of our services provided to the DOE at ETTP and wish him the best in his retirement this month.