LAFAYETTE, La. — Lafayette Fire Chief Robert P. Benoit has announced his retirement, effective August 15, 2025, marking the close of an extraordinary 46-year career in fire service.
For more then 4 decades, Chief Benoit has served the city with a deep sense of purpose. Now, as he prepares to pass the torch, he’s reflecting on a legacy built on faith and community.
“I really feel the love from the community,” Benoit said during an interview at the Downtown Lafayette Fire Station, where his career first began.
Chief Benoit’s journey started when he was just 7 years old. He remembers the exact moment that sparked his passion for firefighting.
“I was going into first grade, and my teacher showed me a book,” Benoit recalled. “There was a firefighter in it, with his hat on and boots. I said, ‘Wow, I want to be a firefighter.’”
Years later, that childhood dream became a reality when he applied to the same downtown station.
“I took the test, the fire chief interviewed me, and told me I was hired,” he said. “I was excited. I felt like a little kid and I never lost that feeling.”
Benoit officially joined the department in 1979. Just 14 years later, in 1993, he was appointed fire chief of the city.
“I came on at 20, and I worked my way through the organization all the way to the chief’s job,” he said. “I’ve been doing it ever since.”
He credits his decades-long career to a higher power.
“It was a gift,” Benoit said. “That childhood dream was really something God put into me and my spirit and then refined it over the years. After realizing that I was working in my gift, it helped to give me perspective on what its all about. So for me, I love the fact that it was a calling from God. Even thought I didn't know it at the time, and I’m glad that 46 years later, I know I’m making Him proud because I'm making the community proud.”
Under his leadership, Lafayette’s fire services have expanded significantly. When he started, there were just seven stations. Today, the city has 14, with updated equipment, better technology, and modernized practices.
"Seeing the change and progression over the past 46 years, I took an organization that needed to move and move quickly—to meet today’s standards, and we did that," Benoit told KATC.
Benoit, who will assist in the selection of his successor, leaves behind a safer Hub City and a department shaped by his vision and commitment.
From the entire community: Thank you, Chief Benoit, for your service!
