XENIA — Xenia Fire Division Capt. Jason Kinley retired from the city in February after 26 years of public service.

Kinley received certification as a Level II Firefighter in 1991 after serving several years in the United States Air Force. Upon separating from service in the Air Force, he soon began his career with the Xenia Fire Division where he dedicated his entire career to providing fire and emergency medical services to the citizens, business owners and visitors of Xenia.

Over the course of his career Kinley was dispatched to several significant incidents including fires at Hooven and Allison, NAPA Auto Parts, OSSO Home dairy barn, Dayton Container, a three-alarm fire at Walter Sellers Apartments, and a two-alarm fire at Deer Creek Apartments. When he was not fighting fires or treating patients, he was managing the emergency medical services for the Division.

“Captain Kinley was a true asset to the Division,” Xenia Fire Chief Ken Riggsby said. “He was always a dedicated firefighter, paramedic, and fire officer. Captain Kinley helped advance the Division’s mission of life safety and served energetically and with the utmost commitment to the public.”

Kinley was a staunch advocate for EMS and led the division in several cutting-edge, pre-hospital medicine programs including the cardiac alert program and stroke alert program. Kinley also launched the fire division’s drone operations team which has often deployed to assist with searched for missing persons.