On Wednesday, October 1st, the Cherry Hill Board of Fire Commissioners appointed Thomas Kolbe to the position of Fire Chief.
In attendance were family and friends, along with fellow fire officers and firefighters of the Cherry Hill Fire Department. The evening began with an Invocation from Monsignor Michael Mannion followed by opening remarks from Commissioner Hugh H. "Skip" Gibson, IV and Mayor Chuck Cahn.
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| Cherry Hill Fire Department Honor Guard |
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| Invocation by Monsignor Mannion |
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| Chief Thomas Kolbe taking Oath of Office |
Chief Kolbe received his badge pinning from his son, Cherry Hill Firefighter Christopher Kolbe.
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| Chief Kolbe and his Family: L to R: His daughter Sarah, his wife Marie and their 3 sons Jason, Chris, and Alex |
Chief Thomas E. Kolbe is a veteran of the Cherry Hill Fire Department with 29 years of service as a full‐time firefighter. Chief Kolbe started his fire service career in Cherry Hill at the age of 16 as a volunteer firefighter in 1977.
Prior to being hired as a full‐time Cherry Hill firefighter in 1986, he was a Federal Firefighter at the Naval Air & Engineering Center in Lakehurst, New Jersey. In 1995, he was promoted to Lieutenant and assigned to the Training and Safety Division of the Department. In 2000, Chief Kolbe became the Chief of the Training and Safety Division and in 2001 was appointed to the position of Assistant Fire Chief.
Fire Chief Kolbe has a BA in Fire Science/Public Safety Administration from Holy Family University, an AAS in Fire Science from Camden County College, has attained the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications for Fire Officer I and Fire Officer II and maintains Fire Official, Fire Instructor and Incident Management certifications from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.
Fire Chief Kolbe and his wife Marie have 4 children Chris, Jason, Sarah and Alex and live in the Ashland section of Cherry Hill.
