Jerry K. Wilder

At the age of 19, Battalion Chief J. Keith Wilder stood for his first role call at the Keeter Training Center, never imagining the opportunities and blessings to come.  His service covers 14 different assignments including a 20-year period on the Raleigh Fire Department Hazmat team.  In 2004 Wilder made a favorable request to the City Manager for Raleigh to bid on the North Carolina Regional Response Hazmat Team.  

The addition of this state-owned asset changed the course and abilities of Raleigh’s Hazmat program.  In 2016 Wilder led Raleigh’s Insurance Services Office (ISO) inspection which resulted in Raleigh’s first ever Class 1 ISO rating.

On and off the job, Chief Wilder is passionate about the benefits, health and safety of firefighters.  For the past 9 years he has served as the 3rd District Vice-President of the North Carolina Professional Fire Fighters and Paramedics where he’s worked at the legislative level to lobby for line of duty death benefits and presumptive healthcare for firefighters.  He is also a Past President of the Raleigh Professional Fire Fighters Association (2008-2015).  Chief Wilder holds an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Fire Science from Delta College.  

Chief Wilder currently serves as the department’s Safety Chief, assigned to the Administrative Division, where he heads the Health & Safety Compliance Office.  During the Covid-19 pandemic he was instrumental in managing and tracking the department’s response.  During that health crisis he assisted other departments throughout the city, who lacked a fulltime safety officer, with their own internal response to Covid-19.

Chief Wilder is a native of Nash County, residing in the Middlesex area where he serves his community as a volunteer firefighter and is an active member of Union Hope Baptist Church.  Together, he and his wife Andrea have 5 adult children, one of whom is also a Raleigh Firefighter.  He enjoys hunting, fishing, bike-packing and riding his motorcycle.