Decatur Township appoints its 1st female battalion chief

INDIANAPOLIS — The Decatur Township Fire Department appointed its first female battalion chief this month. 

Fire Chief Pascal Arnes announced Kelly Key was being promoted from lieutenant to battalion chief on March 11. 

Key joined the department 24 years ago in July 1999. She spent 18 of those years as a lieutenant assigned to an engine company.

Over the course of her more than two decades of service, she's played an integral role at the department. 

She's in charge of DTFD's Youth Fire Setting Intervention program and is an instructor for the recruit academy. Key is also a licensed paramedic and graduate of the National Fire Academy. She has a degree in fire science and DTFD said she holds many other state and national certifications. 

She has dedicated her life to being a firefighter and she married someone who has done the same. Her husband is a firefighter with the Indianapolis Fire Department. They have three sons.