Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Department Deputy Chief John Whalen will be sworn in as the department’s new chief on June 28 {Courtesy Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Department}.
A new chief will soon take the helm at the Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Department.
Deputy Chief John Whalen will replace current Fire Chief Michael McNally, who previously announced his plans for retirement. Whalen will be formally sworn in during a Transfer of Command Ceremony on Friday, June 28, Coral Springs city officials said.
Whalen has been in the fire service since 1993 and has held nearly every position including EMS Director and Special Operations Division Head, according to his department biography.
Whalen, who holds multiple degrees related to the fire service and emergency medical service programs, has been an instructor at the Coral Springs Regional Institute of Public Safety since 2000.
He was selected by former Fire Chief Frank Babinec to be interim fire chief in December 2019, when Babinec began his role as city manager. He was promoted to deputy fire chief in February 2020.
Whalen is the co-chair of the sub-committee for Safety and Health for the Fire Chiefs Association of Broward County, as well as the interim chair of the State Section on Safety and Health.
He has won numerous awards, including the Florida Fire Chiefs Association Paramedic of the Year and the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ Sandy Davis Safety Officer of the Year. He is also the only person to have won the CSPFD Medal of Valor.
McNally was sworn in as chief of the fire department in February 2020. He began his career with the department as a Fire Explorer in 1989 and a volunteer firefighter in 1993, eventually serving in numerous public safety roles in Coral Springs and surrounding communities.
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