Meet The Chief

Earl Borden currently serves as the Fire Chief for St. Bernard Parish Fire Department (SBFD). He was appointed to lead the department in July of 2022 after long-time SBFD Fire Chief Thomas Stone retired. Chief Borden joined SBFD in 2004 and has held various ranks throughout his tenure at SBFD including Firefighter, Engineer, Captain, Chief of Training, Assistant Chief, and now Fire Chief. He has completed the Executive Fire Officer Program (EFO) through the National Fire Academy (NFA), is credentialed as a Chief Fire Officer (CFO) by the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE), and has completed the Fire Service Executive Development Institute (FSEDI) Program developed by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC).

Chief Borden worked through major disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, the BP Oil Spill, numerous hurricanes & Industrial fires, and two Tornado events. He has deployed around the state and country numerous times with the Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshall (LAOSFM) and Louisiana Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Task Forces for Type I disasters, serving in roles such as Incident Commander, Logistics Section Deputy Chief, Operations Section Chief, Liaison Officer, Safety Officer, Branch Director, and Task Force Leader.

Chief Borden is a graduate of St. Bernard High School in 2001. He attainted his Bachelor’s Degree at Upper Iowa University (UIU) in Emergency and Disaster Management and Public Administration in 2015. He went on to earn his Master’s Degree in Fire and Emergency Management Administration from Oklahoma State University in 2019 and is currently in the process of completing his Doctorate Degree in Organizational Change and Leadership from University of Southern California. He returned to UIU in 2021 and began teaching undergraduate students in the Public Administration and Emergency Management programs. 

Chief Borden is a member of the Kiwanis’s Club of St. Bernard and a volunteer coach for girls’ sports teams for St. Bernard Recreational Department. He is married to Kristi Pell Borden and has three children Devin (21), Emma (14), and Ella (12).