Christine Stanley
San Antonio Express-News
SPRING BRANCH, Texas — Spring Branch Volunteer Fire Department’s new chief just turned 27 last week, but his experience with quelling one of nature’s furies goes back nearly 13 years.
Chief Eran Denzler took the helm of Spring Branch VFD a month ago after former Chief Steven Stanphill was “let go” over a personnel issue in October 2008, said Executive Director Elaine Garcia.
She declined to elaborate on Stanphill’s departure.
“I can’t really comment on why he’s no longer with us,” Garcia said. “Just out of courtesy to him, I’d rather not.”
Denzler holds nine of the Texas Commission on Fire Protection’s 11 certifications and brings a lifelong love of firefighting with him.
He chuckled when asked about his beginnings, pointing to a black-and-white photo above his desk of a boy leaning against a fire truck.
“That’s me when I was 5 years old,” he said. “I grew up around the fire department. My mom was actually a medic and my dad was a cop, so I kind of went in between the two and took the thing that they didn’t.”
Denzler said he fought his first fire at age 14 as a volunteer for the Nassau Bay Volunteer Fire Department south of Houston. He worked for the Houston Fire Department for five years after a stint as a military firefighter and then moved on to Hays County as a battalion chief in 2008.
He volunteered for the Nassau Bay Volunteer Fire Department up until last year, achieving the rank of senior captain.
Denzler also received Fire Officer of the Year in 2007 for his time there.
Denzler said he became interested in the Spring Branch VFD chief position because the area’s poised for rapid growth.
“We’re explosive in our growth,” he said. “The potential that this place has is just unbelievable.”
Denzler and his department have plans to keep up with that increase, including up to three new fire stations and increased manpower. Currently, Spring Branch VFD has two fire stations and a third one on the way.
Denzler would like to see two more stations in the future in order to keep up with an increasing call volume, which is up 28 percent from previous years.
“We’re up to two to three calls per day,” he said. “Station 3 will be open around January or February, then hopefully as times goes by stations 4 and 5 will be right behind it.”
Denzler’s hoping that a newly approved sales tax increase will help pay for those expansions, considering that a new fire truck can cost up to $1 million.
“It’s a very costly expense, and we’re glad that the sales tax went through,” he said. “It’s a great success for us and the citizens.”
Garcia said Denzler’s been quick to implement positive changes since his arrival, including a policies and procedures manual for paid employees and volunteers and new fire training classes.
Spring Branch VFD trucks will also get advanced life support equipment in June that will enable firefighters to administer IVs and breathing tubes.
“I’m here for the people,” Denzler said. “It’s my job to make sure that we run this like a business and that we provide the best service to our people.”
In the meantime, Denzler will be busy adjusting to life in Spring Branch, probably the easiest task he’ll face in coming years.
“I think it’s paradise,” he said. “You’ve got hunting, you’ve got the river, very little traffic, there’s the lake. It’s very nice.”
Copyright 2009 San Antonio Express-News
All Rights Reserved