Jaren Kilian currently serves as the Assistant Fire Chief of Administration for the Clay Fire Territory (IN). Clay Fire Territory is an internationally accredited fire department serving more than 70,000 citizens in northern St. Joseph County, Indiana. During his nearly 20-year professional career, he has held every ranked position from probationary firefighter to Assistant Fire Chief. Chief Kilian has an extensive background in fire-based EMS, which includes 10-years years as a critical care flight paramedic for a regional rotor wing areomedical transport program. He is experienced and proficient in staffing, recruitment, training, team/project leadership, policy and procedure development, budget preparation/monitoring, handling citizen concerns, intra-agency collaboration, and accreditation.
Chief Kilian's fire and emergency medical operational experience includes serving with distinction in five states (CO, NM, IN, MI, and NJ) as a chief officer, incident commander, company officer, flight paramedic, technical rescuer, structural and wildland firefighter, and public information officer. He has directly participated in the response and recovery efforts for several major disasters including the 2002 Hayman fire complex (CO); the 2012 Southern Indiana Tornados; and Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey (2012).
Chief Kilian currently serves on the Indiana Emergency Medical Services Technical Advisory Committee. He is an active member of a number of professional groups, committees, boards, and councils, including a Type III Incident Management Team anchored in north-central Indiana. Chief Kilian is a proud member of the Indiana Fire Chiefs Association, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, the National Association of Emergency Medical Service Physicians, and the International Association of Flight & Critical Care Paramedics.