Salem Fire & EMS Chief John Prillaman announced his retirement earlier this week, effective January 1, 2025. Prillaman has served the Salem community in various capacities for over 27 years, including the last 10 years as its fire & EMS chief.
“It has been an incredible honor to work for the city of Salem and serve with a group of professionals who are dedicated to serving our citizens” Prillaman said. “I have been proud to be called a firefighter for more than 35 years and have been privileged to serve with the very best at every level.”
Prillaman, 51, joined the Salem Fire and EMS Department in 1998 and was promoted to senior firefighter in 2001. In 2005, he attained the rank of lieutenant and training officer and was named a captain in 2006 and deputy fire chief in May of 2010. On January 1, 2015, he officially replaced retiring Chief Pat Counts as Salem’s fire chief.
The city of Salem Fire & EMS chief also serves as the city’s emergency management coordinator during floods, storms and other crisis events. That responsibility became a much more demanding role when the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
“I was never prouder of our Salem Fire & EMS Department personnel or the city of Salem than I was during the height of the pandemic,” he said. “We worked long hours treating and transporting patients, setting-up testing sites, and eventually helping oversee mass immunization sites. This would not have been possible without a great team and great partners.”
Before coming to Salem, Prillaman served 11 years as a volunteer firefighter in Roanoke County where he rose to the rank of fire chief of Back Creek Fire & Rescue. In addition, from 1991-95 he was a Fire Protection Specialist in the United States Air Force. He received several medals and commendations during his time of service and graduated with honors from the Fire Academy at Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois.
“In the short time I have known Chief Prillaman I have observed not only his love of the city, but his strong desire to maintain a well-qualified and reliable work force,” said Salem City Manager Chris Dorsey. “It is clear that he wants his co-workers to value Salem as much as he does, and his leadership will be missed.”
Prillaman is a Roanoke County native and 1990 graduate of Cave Spring High School. When he returned to the area after serving in the Air Force in 1997, he actually began working for Salem’s Streets and Maintenance Department in the sign shop and in building maintenance.
“I have been very lucky to have some great mentors throughout my fire service career and my time in Salem,” said Prillaman. “It would be impossible to properly thank everyone, but I will forever be grateful to my predecessors Chief Dan Hall, who made the decision to hire me in 1998, and Chief Pat Counts, who gave me the opportunity to become the leader that I am today.
While employed with the city, Prillaman earned his bachelor’s degree in fire administration as an honors graduate of Hampton University in 2004. In 2007, he acquired his master’s degree in public administration from Virginia Tech. Prillaman also graduated from the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer School in 2014. In addition, he served on the Virginia Fire Chiefs Association Board of Directors for 11 years, serving as the president from 2022 to 2023. He also serves on the board of directors for the Virginia Fire Service Council, Virginia Statewide Interoperability Committee, and the Virginia Public Safety Memorial Foundation.
“I would also like to thank our retired City Manager, Forest Jones, who made a huge impression on me as a young lieutenant and taught me about the ‘Salem Way’ of treating co-workers and the public in general,” he said. “I hope I was able to live up to the standards all these gentlemen set for me, and I trust that the next leader will take the department to even greater heights.”
During his tenure, Prillaman also was instrumental is the research, design, and construction of the state-of the-art Roanoke Valley Regional Fire Training Tower on Kessler Mill Road and the installation of the 9/11 Memorial in front of Fire Station #1 in Downtown Salem.
In addition, in Prillaman’s decade as chief, the department has changed it rank structure, upgraded its radio equipment and department logo, replaced its front-line apparatus, established of a PEER Support Team and Chaplain program, upgraded software applications, and implemented a new standardized Incident Command System.
“None of these things would have been possible without a great team,” he said.
Salem City Manager Chris Dorsey plans to begin the process of hiring Salem’s next fire & chief immediately, according to the city. Courtesy photos.
