Meet the new Fairbanks Airport Police and Fire Chief

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - The Fairbanks Airport Police and Fire Department has a new chief. Roger Stevener took over as chief earlier this month after serving as the deputy chief since 2018. He has been with the department since 2008.

“The deputy chief has more of a focus on operational readiness and operational activities on a day in day out basis, where the chief’s responsibilities lie more in administrative management, strategic planning for the department, [and] budget administration,” Stevener said.

The previous chief, Aaron Danielson, left the position earlier this month to become the chief of the Anchorage Police and Fire Department. Stevener said that he will continue the work that Chief Danielson started, including “to try to identify some of these changes, some of the evolution of law enforcement, fire response, five years, ten years down the road, and prepare ourselves both through our training, our equipment purchases, to be able to transition with those changes and not sort of be playing catch-up.”

The department is unique in that each member has to be trained in law enforcement and firefighting. Stevener said he spends more time on the law enforcement side, but that they also have to ensure they are well trained for fires.

He said he wants the community to know that “our goal as a department is to provide a level of excellence in our response and our service to the traveling public in the State of Alaska through professionalism and through solid enforcement practices here.”

Stevener also encouraged the public to reach out to the department at any time.