Meet the Chief and Command Staff

Brad Bolen

Emergency Services Assistant Chief

Brad Bolen is an executive Chief Officer for the Boise Fire Department with 30 years of experience in the fire service, and the current rank of Assistant Fire Chief managing the Emergency Services Division. The Emergency Services Division is comprised of 285 personnel reporting to 3 Division Chiefs who manage Operations, Training and Safety, Special Operations, and Emergency Medical Services. Additionally, he is part of the Fire Chief’s Executive Team which is involved in setting program direction, as well as supporting the city-wide initiatives and goals, implementing standards and policies, and adjusting the course of our mission to meet the community’s needs.

Brad has worked for the Boise Fire Department for 10 years and has held the positions of Division Chief of Operations, and Division Chief of Safety and Training. Prior to coming to the Boise Fire Department, Brad served 20 years working for the Bureau of Land Management’s Fire and Aviation program starting as an entry level firefighter and working his way up through various Fire and Aviation positions ending with Division Chief.

Romeo Gervais

Support Services Assistant Chief

Romeo Gervais has served as the current Assistant Chief of Support Services for the Boise Fire Department since 2021. As the Support Services Assistant Chief, he leads the Fire Prevention, Logistics, and Wildfire Divisions. Prior to his current role, he served as the Deputy Chief - Fire Marshal for the department for nearly 10 years.

Chief Gervais started his fire service career in 1992 as a volunteer firefighter with the Hope Valley-Wyoming Fire District in Rhode Island. This led him to study Fire Protection Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute where he received his Master of Science Degree. During his schooling, he served as a Student Firefighter for the Auburn Fire Department. Following graduation, he worked as a fire protection engineer with Gage-Babcock and Associates while continuing to volunteer as a firefighter. In 2001, he became the Deputy Fire Marshal for the Loveland Fire & Rescue Authority in Loveland, Colorado, and held that role until 2011.

Chief Gervais is a licensed Professional Engineer and holds certifications from the International Code Council as a Certified Fire Marshal, Certified Building Code Official, and Certified Fire Code Official. He is also a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI) through the National Association of Fire Investigators. Currently Chief Gervais is enrolled in the multi-year Executive Fire Officer (EFO) program through the National Fire Academy and plans to graduate in 2023.

Kelsie Carnosso

Chief Administrative Officer

Kelsie oversees the Planning & Administration section, a high-performing team of professional staff committed to providing strong partnerships and support to the Fire Department. As part of the Fire Chief’s Executive Team, she strategically guides the department’s growth, supports city-wide initiatives, and implements program standards and policies to meet community needs. Kelsie has been with the Fire Department for five years, where she also served as the Fire Strategic Business Manager and Project Manager. Previously, she was a senior manager in the private sector, working alongside hospital industry leaders implementing generational evolutions in medical technology and administrative programming. She has her Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Project Management Professional Certification. Kelsie is incredibly proud to work alongside the men and women who dedicate so much to ensuring the community is safe. Kelsie and her husband grew up in the Boise area, where they are happily raising their two children.

Aaron Hummel

Operations/EMS Division Chief

Aaron Hummel was born in Coeur d’ Alene moved to Boise in 1976. He’s lived in Boise his entire life with the exception of his time in the military which took him to San Diego, San Francisco, and Norfolk.

Aaron has been a professional firefighter for 26 years. Prior to joining Boise Fire in 1995 he joined the U.S. Navy in 1990 and served aboard the USS Puget Sound in Norfolk, VA as a shipboard firefighter. Hummel attained the rank of Damage Controlman 2^nd Class Petty Officer before being honorably discharged in 1994. Hummel is currently the Operations and EMS Chief for Boise Fire Department. Hummel is credentialed through the State of Idaho to teach building construction and has served on the department’s hazardous materials, USAR and dive rescue teams. He has an associate degree from Boise State University and a bachelor’s degree from Lewis and Clark State College.

Paul Roberts

Special Operations Division Chief

Paul Roberts is the Division Chief of Special Operations for Boise Fire. This Division is comprised of three special operations teams; Hazardous Material, Technical Rescue and Aircraft Rescue & Fire Fighting (ARFF). The Hazardous Material and Technical Rescue Team are also a part of the State of Idaho’s Regional Response.

Chief Roberts is a U.S. Army Veteran with 26 years of experience in the fire service, which began in 1987 in the suburbs of Dayton, Ohio working for the Butler Township Fire Department and the City of Riverside Fire Department. In Ohio, Paul served as a Firefighter, Paramedic, Lieutenant, Captain and Battalion Chief. After 14 years in Ohio, he moved to Boise, Idaho and briefly worked for the Grand Canyon National Park Service as an Engine Firefighter and for the Idaho Emergency Medical Service as the Certification and Licensure Coordinator. Just prior to being hired by the Boise Fire Department in 2001, Paul worked for the U.S. Forest Service’s Idaho City Hot Shots, and part-time for the Bureau of Land Management’s Boise Helitack.

Since 2001, Paul has worked for Boise Fire as a Firefighter, Training Captain and currently as the Division Chief. Chief Roberts has provided operational needs and expectations of public safety for technology research & development while working with the International Association of Fire Chiefs, Western Fire Chiefs, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S Department of Commerce (Nation Institute of Standards and Technology, Public Safety Communication Research). He maintains a strong working relationship with each of these associations, federal agencies and FirstNet (local & national). Paul has two children, one working towards a career in fire service, and one in high school who is a varsity cheerleader. Chief Roberts also enjoys the Great Outdoors, family and friends.

Lance Carbone

Logistics Division Chief

Lance started his fire career in 1989 on El Cariso Hotshots in Region 5 while working toward a structural firefighter position. After attending the State Fire Academy, Lance was hired into a permanent Firefighter position and spent two years before he returned to the United States Forest Service.

Lance spent 20 years in Federal wildland fire management and held various positions including Zone FMO and AFMO, Forest Fire Planner, Hotshot Squad leader, Engine Captain while working in Regions 4, 5 and 6.

Lance has been in his current position as Division Chief of Logistics with the City of Boise Fire Department since 2013 and oversees 17 Fire Stations, over 100 fleet vehicles and heavy apparatus and all equipment and supplies for the Department. The Logistics Division consists of four full time Logistics Captains, one part time SCBA technician and a warehouse specialist.

Lance has been part of Incident Management Teams since 1999 serving as Division Supervisor, Operations Section Chief and Planning Section Chief. Currently, Lance is a Planning Section Chief 1 on Great Basin Team 2 and is qualified as OSC2, OPBD, ICT3, PSC1 and ACPC.

Mike Bisagno

Fire Preventions - Fire Marshal Division Chief

Mike Bisagno is the Division Chief – Fire Marshal for the Boise Fire Department with 19 years of experience in the fire service.  He manages the Fire Prevention Division for the Boise Fire Department. The Fire Prevention Division is responsible for fire plans reviews, construction/operational permit inspections, fire and life safety inspections, and fire investigations within the City of Boise and the NACFR and Whitney fire districts.

He is a member of the fire department’s General Orders Committee in which fire department guiding documents are maintained and created through a collaborative process with the firefighters’ union and the department’s command staff.

Mike has been with the Boise Fire Department since 2010.  Prior to coming to the Boise Fire Department, he was a firefighter with the North Ada County Fire District where he was the IAFF Local 2311’s Union President. He has worked as a firefighter/EMT, HazMat technician, and Fire Prevention Captain/Inspector. Mike was formerly a chairman/secretary of the Boise Fire & Police Trust’s board of trustees and also the IAFF Local #149’s Union President and executive board member. Mike is a graduate of the College of Idaho and has lived in the Treasure Valley since 1990.

Rachel Holford

Emergency Preparedness Manager

Rachel Holford is the City of Boise’s Emergency Manager, and she has 20 years of experience in Public Safety. Rachel leads the Office of Emergency Preparedness, which coordinates with all city departments regarding planning and training for the safety and security of employees. This office plays a vital role in coordinating safety and security elements, capabilities, and collaboration amongst the response and support resources in the event of local emergencies, and for large scale pre-planned events. She believes in a whole community approach to preparedness by engaging county, state, and federal emergency management programs, and local community stakeholders. Prior to Emergency Preparedness Rachel spent 15 years working in law enforcement as a criminal intelligence analyst and project manager. She graduated from the National Emergency Management Institute in August of 2022 with her Advanced Emergency Manager Accreditation. Rachel is currently the Vice Chair for the Idaho Voluntary Organizations Aiding in Disasters and participates on local and regional All Hazards Incident Management and Support Teams. Growing up locally she feels vey strongly about community involvement and finding ways to support one another.