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SFR Chief Mark Outlaw leaves behind many legacies

Former Suffolk Fire and Rescue Chief Mark Outlaw passed away on Jan. 8, 2025. He started with SFR in 1977 and in 1994, he became the youngest appointed Fire Chief in Virginia at 36 years old. Outlaw was the first to implement many cutting edge changes to SFR, both during and after his tenure, that are still used today.

An SFR Facebook post announcing his death reads, “Chief Outlaw was not only a respected leader but also a mentor and friend to many. His impact on Suffolk Fire and Rescue and the community will never be forgotten.” 

Both Fire Chief Michael Barakey and Chief William Kessinger knew Outlaw for over 30 years. Kessinger said Outlaw hired him in 1999, but he knew Outlaw while he was still a volunteer. Barakey said he met Outlaw through the Hampton Roads Chiefs Organization.

“Chief Outlaw not only loved his family, but he considered every firefighter in Suffolk, retired or active duty, to be part of his family,” Barakey said.

One legacy Outlaw left behind was the unofficial slogan of SFR. “Our family protecting yours” was adopted by Outlaw and is still on all their uniforms and fire trucks. 

Kessinger said Outlaw was the first to initiate advanced life support engine companies in Suffolk, which are fire stations that provide emergency medical services. Additionally, one of his first initiatives as Chief was to have a paramedic on every fire truck. Outlaw essentially brought EMS to the Suffolk Fire Department, Kessinger said.

Fire station five and six were also built during Outlaw’s tenure, he was involved with getting full time ladder companies into the city, and he started the first heavy rescue company in the city. 

Barakey said Outlaw also began working with other regional fire departments in Hampton Roads to address regional problems long before SFR operated as a regional fire department. 

“Chief Outlaw had a vision that fire service and EMS wasn’t contained within a city line,” Barakey said. “[He] was, kind of, a leader with fire chiefs back before it was really a cool thing to do, and so that was one of the legacies he’ll always have.”

Outlaw retired from SFR in 2012, “yet his relationship with the fire service never ended,” Barakey said. After his retirement, Outlaw worked for Atlantic Emergency Solutions in Wisconsin, where fire truck and apparatus manufacturing company Pierce Manufacturing is located. 

“Every fire truck that was built in the Hampton Roads area, from the Pierce Manufacturing side, Chief Outlaw had a hand in those fire trucks,” Barakey said. “So we can still thank Chief Outlaw today for his continued service through his work during Atlantic Emergency [Solutions].”

Kessinger said Outlaw loved new technology and was eager to be the first person to try something new. He added that Outlaw pushed for them to start keeping electronic reports. 

“He’s going to be greatly missed by not only us, but by Atlantic Emergency Solutions, and also by our region,” Kessinger said.

Barakey added that he “touched the lives of many people in the Hampton Roads fire service.”