New Princeton Fire Chief Shannon Stephens. Bob Wieland/The Princeton Herald

Princeton’s new fire chief has a helmet shield displayed in his office so he can see it from his desk.

“Keep the Promise,” the shield reads, summarizing Chief Shannon Stephens’ pledge to the community.

Stephens, who succeeds Chief Tom Harvey, who retired last year, began his career as a paramedic in Hunt County. He then spent 24 years with the fire department in The Colony. 

During that time, the city grew rapidly, going from one to five firehouses and from a staff of 20 to more than 100 as huge retail operations like Nebraska Furniture Mart and Grandscape opened. 

A captain, battalion chief and operations chief, Stephens left The Colony in July 2023 to become chief in the Central Texas city of Harker Heights. But he was glad for the opportunity to return to the Dallas-Fort Worth area because he has family in Plano and Greenville.

Stephens is proud to maintain traditions of the fire service, noting that the department’s uniforms are blue and that firefighters live in firehouses, not stations.

“A firehouse is the centerpiece of a community,” he said. “A station is a depot for resources.”

When planning for growth, Stephens thinks strategically, relying on service-based plans providing the best allocation of resources for dense population centers like Princeton has.

Multi-family units packed with modern consumables present firefighters with challenges that have evolved since drafty houses were made of wood and interior items were wool or cotton, he said.

“Those would burn at 8,000 BTUs (British Thermal Units) per pound,” the chief said, whereas today’s sealed structures contain more volatile fuel, burning at 24,000 to 30,000 BTUs per pound.

“My desk is basically made of sawdust held together with glue,” he said.

Another potential problem is the limited supply of water the farther developments get from the city center. 

Stephens said he supports the City Council’s moratorium on new residential building and is waiting to see whether rural voters will approve an emergency services district (ESD).

The Collin County Commissioners Court has scheduled a July 21 hearing on a petition to create an ESD and could put the topic on the Nov. 4 general election ballot. 

The 60,000 county residents who live outside cities would then be able to designate part of their property taxes to a district that would pay city fire departments more money for making rural runs. The current compensation fund of $1 million is shared among all cities, forcing municipalities like Farmersville, McKinney and Melissa to opt out of their service contracts.

With sufficient revenue, the Collin County ESD could eventually open its own firehouses staffed by fulltime professional firefighters. 

The next step for the Princeton City Council is to decide whether to allow residents living in the city’s extra-territorial jurisdiction to take part in the November vote.

One of Stephens’ first appearances as fire chief was in last month’s dedication of a vending machine dispensing free doses of Narcan for treating opioid overdoses. 

Stephens said the machine at Princeton Pharmacy, 100 W. Princeton Drive, makes the easy-to-use nasal spray available for anyone with a friend or family member who may sustain a life-threatening emergency. 

The chief said all Princeton Police Department and Fire Department vehicles carry Narcan, and now civilians can also have it on hand.

“It’s a resource for you to invest in your own public safety,” he said.

Looking ahead, Stephens said he was honored to be named to lead the Princeton team to “Keep the Promise.”

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By Bob Wieland | [email protected]