Lexington has a new fire chief, and he's the same person who has held the post on an interim basis for the past 15 months.
Mayor Jim Gray announced Thursday that Keith Jackson is being appointed to the job. Jackson is the city's first African-American fire chief.
He is also a 20-year veteran of the department. He became interim chief about a month after Gray asked former chief Robert Hendricks to step down, citing weak management skills and an extreme amount of staff overtime. The city announced last week that Hendricks would return as a firefighter and paramedic.
Hendricks had been on unpaid leave since September, and the city settled an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint that he filed.
