Roundtable Talk - The Role of Fire Department Chaplains

Jimmie R. Duncan, Jr. became the Executive Director of the Federation of Fire Chaplains March 1, 2020. He has been a member of the Fire Service since 1987, joining the Irving (Texas) Fire Department Jun 15 of that year. He subsequently retired in 2019 after 32 years of service. He holds a Master Firefighter Certification from the State of Texas, he was a licensed paramedic (1991-2020), and also holds certificates in High Angle Rescue I and II, Confined Space Rescue, and Trench Rescue and is a certified Fire Instructor. Jimmie also holds numerous certificates from the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, which includes a Certificate of Specialized Training in the area of Pastoral Crisis Intervention. Jimmie served as the Chaplain and Critical Incident Stress Management coordinator for the Irving Fire Department (Irving, Texas) department for over 20 years. Jimmie is one of the founding members and President of the Texas Corps of Fire Chaplains and is a member of the Texas Line of Duty Task Force. He holds a BA degree in Religion from Gardner-Webb College (Now University). He currently resides in Irving, Texas with his wife, Cindy.  

Dick Brown has been involved as a firefighter for 35 years, 17 on which he served as the delegate from California. He has been a fire chaplain for almost 15 years. Dick serves as the vice president of the California Fire Chaplain Association and is a member of the Federation of Fire Chaplains. 

Chaplain Jim Cook retired from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection/Cal Fire and the Riverside County Fire Department as a Battalion Chief after 36 years if service. Jim has been involved in the Volunteer Reserve Chaplain Program in Riverside County since 1997 and has helped develop an effective chaplaincy for his department.  The chaplains have supported mutual aid needs for San Bernardino County, San Diego, and statewide.  Chaplain Cook has been a member of the Federation of Fire Chaplain since 2003 and is currently serving on the FFC Board as President. He is a member of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation.  Jim serves as the President of the California Fire Chaplain Association which works under the umbrella of the Federation of Fire Chaplains.  Jim has an A.A. degree in Biblical and Theological studies which he received in May of 2013.  He was a member of Fellowship Church in Beaumont, A Southern Baptist Church for 34 years and has been involved with a ministry of Fellowship Church in Cabazon since 2000, for 24 years.  In November of 2021, the Cabazon ministry became its own independent church, named Cabazon Fellowship.  Jim has had the honor of being their Pastor for the last three years.  

Jim’s wife is Roxie Cook, and they celebrated their 51st year of marriage in September of 2024.  Roxie has been a tremendous support to the Chaplain ministry and to Cabazon Fellowship that Jim has been involved with.  Jim and Roxie, with a lot of help from Fire Department Chaplains in Southern California hosted the FFC Conference in Palm Springs in 2009 and in the City of Cathedral City in 2019.   Jim and Roxie have six children and six grandchildren.  Roxie is very Active with the FFC spouse activities and is always supporting and encouraging.