MT. VERNON — Mt. Vernon’s new Fire Chief Kevin Sargent is settling into his new role, and the chief jokes that his first few weeks have been “baptism by fire” with how busy he has been.

Sargent says one of his biggest goals is to be involved in the community besides just responding to emergencies.

Sargent says everyone is welcome to come in to his department to talk about issues or as he puts it, “to show your kid a real fire truck.”

You can hear the full interview with Chief Sargent Sunday morning at 11 a.m. on the Southern Illinois Insider on AM 940, 96.5 FM, and also on 94.1 FM, WMIX.