BRIEF: Hillsborough fire chief demoted, replaced by ex-Tampa chief

April 03--Dennis Jones, who served as Tampa's fire chief for more than five years, has been tapped to lead Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.

Current Fire Chief Ron Rogers has been demoted to deputy fire chief.

Jones, 58, will take over April 27 at an annual salary of $157,500. He has 37 years' experience, including 32 years with Tampa's department.

As the Hillsborough chief, Jones will lead one of the largest fire departments in the nation with 40 fire stations and nearly 1,000 career firefighters and paramedics as well as 160 reserve responders.

Starting service with the Tampa department in 1978, Jones moved up through the ranks as paramedic, driver/engineer, training instructor, captain, district chief, airport chief and chief.

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