Community Leader:
Buddy Kuhn, Alamo Heights fire chief and assistant city manager
Buddy Kuhn can do it all. But fighting fires is his passion.
Buddy Kuhn is the guy who can fix anything and everything. The guy who loves his job. His wife and his family. The guy who loves challenges. Who thrives on learning new stuff. The guy who is doing what he wanted to do all his life. Buddy is the Alamo Heights fire chief and assistant city manager. I recently talked with Buddy about his work, his life, his loves.
Tell us about growing up.
I was born in Dallas but only lived there for three months. Obviously I don’t remember it. We moved to Kendalia in the Hill Country, in Kendall County, in the fall of 1966. That’s where I’ve lived ever since. I graduated from Blanco High School and attended San Antonio College before completing my undergraduate B.S. degree from Columbia Southern.
I live in my great-grandmother’s house. My great-granddad immigrated to Texas in the late 1800s. My kids are the fifth generation to live in that house. Family has kept me in Kendalia.
When did you become interested in firefighting?
I guess I was always interested in firefighting. Kendalia is a small community. Our house was very close to the volunteer fire station. At age 16 I joined the Kendalia Volunteer Fire Department. I’m still a member.
Were you always a firefighter?
No. Like most broke kids, when I got an offer to work in construction – putting in high-rise elevators – I jumped at the chance. At the time, I was making about $2 an hour building fences and hauling hay. I worked on the Omni Hotel at I-10 and Wurzbach, the NW City View Center at I-10 and 410, and several buildings at USAA installing elevators and repairing/assembling equipment. I discovered I was very good at repairing stuff. I learned if a man made it, I could take it apart and put it back together again. That talent has served me well in whatever I have done.
How did making lots of money in construction turn out?
Not well. Like lots of young people, I discovered credit cards and ended up buried in debt. I was spending more than I was making. It was time for a change, and I moved back to Kendalia.
So when did you become a full-time firefighter?
At age 26 I got into the professional side of firefighting and joined the Terrell Hills Fire Department. It was 1992 and my first job as a firefighter. I worked my way up through the ranks over there. In 1996, I also worked for the City of Boerne in maintenance in fire stations and on the trucks. In 2000, I became deputy in the Boerne city fire marshal’s office. And in 2009 I came to Alamo Heights as assistant chief. I was promoted to interim chief in July 2010 and later became chief. In Terrell Hills I did a little of everything, and it’s the same in Alamo Heights. I like that.
You have added a title — you’re now assistant city manager of Alamo Heights.
That’s true. My title now is fire chief/assistant city manager. The beauty of working for a small city is you can learn and do a lot of different things, and you are given the chance to do as much as you want to do. Becoming assistant city manager was an opportunity for me to work on a lot of issues – from parking to development to city infrastructure. I do something different every day, and I enjoy doing it all. But it is important to note I have a great staff, which lets me do a lot.
Has Alamo Heights hired female firefighters?
We just hired an outstanding firefighter paramedic professional. Her name is Anessa Meadows. She came to us from Tucson, Ariz., where she worked as a firefighter paramedic. All of our fire- fighters must also be certified as paramedics.
You love what you do. What would you like for your children?
I have two daughters ages 20 and 23. I want my girls to be happy. That’s what I want. My oldest is an art major at Southwest School of Art, and my youngest is at Texas A&M. She wants to be an attorney. My wife, Katya, and I have been married for 28 years.
What do you like best about what you do?
I really like to help people. Doing what I do gives me the chance to make a difference for people. As assistant city manager I can address many problems in neighborhoods. As fire chief I have the opportunity for there to be a difference in people’s outcomes, and that makes me feel great.
Advice for young people just starting out in life?
Pursue your passion, whatever that may be. Be curious. Remember, if you love what you do, it is never “work.”
By Ron Aaron Eisenberg
