In Brief:
- 🔥 The City of Valparaiso fire department has long been jointly managed with the Niceville Fire Department, but officials say low call volume and complex dual systems make the arrangement inefficient.
- 🔄 Fire Chief Alex Kukulus proposed merging operations into a unified system where both departments would function as one operational unit, potentially even sharing staffing and cross-city coverage to reduce costs and improve efficiency.
- 💰 Commissioners discussed a two-person rescue staffing plan that would allow Valparaiso firefighters to cross over into Niceville.
The City of Valparaiso could see changes to its fire department, currently overseen by the Niceville Fire Department, to cut staffing costs and organize the department(s). Valparaiso City Commissioners discussed their ideas with Niceville Fire Chief Alex Kukulus at a workshop on June 11. Kukulus serves, along with the command team at Niceville Fire, as the administration for Valparaiso thanks to an agreement between the two cities made earlier this year.
How did we get here?
Valparaiso and Niceville first fell under the same leadership in 2018 when Valparaiso hired then-Niceville Fire Chief Tommy Mayville as an independent contractor, using his services to act as Fire Chief for both cities.
Mayville oversaw both departments until 2024, when Valparaiso hired Charlie Franks as the city’s first independent Fire Chief in half a decade, also using a sub-contractual agreement.
David Lanier took over in 2025, this time hired as an employee of the City of Valparaiso. This didn’t last long, however, as Lanier was fired just five months later after an investigation revealed he’d unlawfully fired a whistleblower who claimed Lanier regularly used racial slurs in the workplace.
Today, the City of Valparaiso still does not have its own Fire Chief. Kukulus acts as chief for both VFD and NFD, an arrangement Niceville City Manager David Deitch offered in Dec. 2025.
At the workshop on June 11, Kukulus told Valparaiso commissioners that managing two different fire departments is a strenuous effort.
“Effectively, we’re working like one operational fire department, yet I’ve got them siloed within their stations and not able to cross over,” he said. “I’ve got two separate payroll systems, two sets of policies and procedures, two sets of RMS systems and battalion chiefs to review and logins on both sides, so it’s a little bit of a challenge.”
Kukulus said the number of fire emergencies in Valparaiso does not warrant the effort of managing both departments.
“The city is responsible for about 300 calls a year, and of those, the vast majority — about 85% — is [sic] EMS related,” Kukulus said. “Even that other 15%, less than 1% are structure fires. … I find Val-p in sort of an interesting phenomenon as far as such a low call volume, small geographic area and limited resources budget. In a lot of places throughout the country, an area with 300 calls a year would not have a full-time fire department.”
Kukulus proposed merging Valparaiso and Niceville’s fire departments, making them “separate legal entities [that would] operate as one.”
“Giving unified direction to a singular fire agency; it would be more ideal for me to be able to have all our personnel on duty and they can cross over [between Valparaiso and Niceville],” Kukulus said. “… The only way to maintain [the] status quo is to maintain or increase [VFD’s annual] budget slightly.”
Joshua Latham, Valparaiso Commissioner for Health and Sanitation, said increasing the budget isn’t possible because the department already “needs budget cuts.”
Kukulus said he discussed the possibility of a fire department merger with the East Niceville and North Bay Fire Districts, as well.
“There was recognition that coming together definitely has its advantages,” he said. “They were also quick to point out some of the challenges. I mean, Niceville doesn’t have FRS pension system [the State of Florida’s pension and retirement system], so there’s that. I don’t think any hurdle is insurmountable, but there’s certainly challenges.”
Kukulus also proposed a system where Niceville staffs firefighters from Valparaiso’s department.
“The two-person rescue that I currently have, how could we put it over here [in Valparaiso],” he said to the commission. “Whatever is most optimal for both agencies. … We want to have them here at night. So, they’d be over [in Niceville] with us during the day doing training, etc., and then they just come bed down over here [in Valparaiso], something like that. It’s still mostly the existing personnel we have, which is not an added cost to either agency, and then Val-p would be picking up that prorated portion of whatever the cost is.”
Tom Browning, Commissioner of Streets, said this option seems the most efficient for now as they work toward a long-term solution.
“I think the two-man rescue is the only thing we can afford, when it comes down to it,” he said. “That’s just brass tacks.”
The commission took no action at the workshop, but Browning asked Kukulus to prepare a full cost analysis for the two-person rescue plan. The commission plans to continue dialogue with Kukulus and the NFD as they work toward a solution.
Mid Bay News will continue to report as the story develops.
