Lafayette Fire Chief Robert Benoit — A Lifetime of Service and Leadership

Lafayette Fire Chief Robert Benoit, a man who has devoted 46 years to protecting our community, recently announced his retirement. A Lafayette native, Chief Benoit joined the department in May 1979 and made history in August 1993 when he became the first Black fire chief in Lafayette’s history. Under his leadership, the department expanded from seven to fourteen fire stations, modernized equipment and training, and earned improved fire ratings, saving money and lives. Chief Benoit has been inducted into the Louisiana Fire Chiefs Hall of Fame and served as President of the Southwestern Division of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. As he prepares to retire on August 15, 2025, Chief Benoit reflected on the calling he discovered as a child, the trials and triumphs of leading during economic downturns and political shifts, and the deeper sense of purpose that led him to seminary and prison ministry. “I think it was a gift that God placed in me, probably from birth… getting to how I got there was looking at a firefighter in a book at school at seven years old… and I said, ‘I want to be a firefighter.’” From Stockboy to Chief Chief Benoit’s journey began with humble jobs—first at Lafayette Drug Company, then Martin Mills in St. Martinville—while waiting to meet the age requirement to become a firefighter. When the age was lowered to 18, he took the civil service exam, passed, and began training at the fire academy. His first assignment was the Central Fire Station, where he spent 99% of his career. "The first thing you get is an interview with the fire chief. The fire chief at that time was Wayne Prejean. He told me he was going to give me a shot. I remember walking out the fire station realizing that I was going to get a job. Even though I had to go through the physical process. And then from there, once I cleared the physical, I went to the academy which lasted three months. It was exciting. I did everything I needed to do." My first station was at Central Downtown, which is where I work today. At that time, we had a pumper truck and a ladder truck and a rescue truck in the station. That's where I started to learn the business of firefighting. Learning that business, reading on my own time, a lot of time in the fire station. We were very short on firefighters." “They called it ‘The Rock’... because everything comes through the Central Fire Station. That was administration, firefighters, and the communications center.” A Rapid Rise Through the Ranks Benoit was known for his drive and initiative. He became a truck driver within three years (something that on average takes about eight years), communications officer, arson investigator, and captain—a rank he reached in just six years. “I wanted to learn every section of the fire department... Didn’t realize I was going to be chief. I just wanted to understand how this organization worked.” In the 1980, the local economy tanked. "I used to hear people make the comment. Last one out. Turn the lights out. They had a lot of vacant buildings and having a lot of fires that was arson.Kids were setting buildings on fire. And of course, unfortunately, some businesses were setting their businesses on fire. The fire chief at that time was Jack Massey who needed some help in the fire prevention bureau in the arson section. He asked me to go work in there just for a couple of months, just to help him out. I wound up going in there and found a home in fire prevention. So this is seven years later. I'm in fire prevention. I started learning the business of investigations. I started getting trained by ATF agents, FBI agents, insurance agents and going to school. That's where my educational level really skyrocketed. I started getting degrees and learning this business of investigating fires. The fire chief put me in charge of internal affairs for the fire department. So I pretty much did everything,