COVINGTON, Ky. – After a nearly 30-year career with the Covington Fire Department and almost six years as its chief, Mark Pierce is stepping down.

Chief Pierce, 59, submitted his resignation this week for the purposes of retirement, effective March 31.

“I love Covington, and I love being a firefighter in Covington,” Pierce said. “But wise people always told me ‘you’ll know when it’s time to leave,’ and that time has come.”

City leaders said they have begun the process for finding the chief’s replacement.

“We want to thank Mark for his many years, decades actually, of service to Covington residents and the Department itself, and we wish him success in whatever he decides to do next,” City Manager Ken Smith said.

Pierce was hired by Covington on May 1, 1995. He worked his way up the ranks to be named interim chief on Jan. 1, 2018, replacing the departing Dan Mathew, and was sworn in as chief on May 15 of that year.

But his firefighting career actually started earlier, when he joined the Bromley Volunteer Fire Department at age 15.

“From the time I was a very young person, all I ever wanted to do was to be a firefighter,” Pierce said.

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