Robert Larkin retires Jan. 1 after 35 years in Lexington public safety. Mayor Linda Gorton plans to name his successor in early December, before winter weather.

Robert Larkin, director of Lexington’s Division of Emergency Management, plans to retire Jan. 1. The city announced his retirement Monday.

Larkin has led the division since 2024. January will mark 35 years of public safety service to Lexington for him, the city said.

Mayor Linda Gorton said she plans to name a new director in early December. That timing is deliberate.

“Emergency Management plays an important role year-round, but especially during the winter months,” Gorton said. “I want to have a new person in place and ready to go when our winter weather is normally at its most challenging.”

Who Larkin is

The city’s release sets out his career:

  • planning chief in the Division of Fire and Emergency Services, where he reached the rank of assistant chief
  • more than 34 years in the Kentucky Army National Guard, retiring as a brigadier general and land component commander
  • director of the Division of Emergency Management since 2024

“Rob has been an excellent addition to our Public Safety Team, expanding the role of the Division to better serve our residents,” Gorton said. “We will miss his experience and expertise.”

Larkin said his time as director had been “especially rewarding, not only strengthening preparedness and improving response capabilities, but supporting our community during difficult times.”

He called emergency management a team sport. “We command and control very little, but collaborate, communicate, coordinate and above all cooperate to meet needs during emergencies and disasters,” Larkin said.

What the division does

The Division of Emergency Management works across four phases: preparation, response, recovery and mitigation, according to the division’s page on the city website. It also runs the city’s 32 outdoor warning sirens, which sound for hazardous weather watches and warnings.

The division sits in the city’s Department of Public Safety, alongside police, fire, corrections and E-911. Ken Armstrong is the public safety commissioner.

What it means for you

Nothing changes for residents now. Larkin remains director through the end of the year, and the mayor intends to have his successor working before the worst of the winter weather.

A few things are worth doing before then:

  • Learn how to prepare your household for an emergency on BeReadyLexington, the division’s preparedness site.
  • Read how the city will treat streets this winter in our Lexington snow and ice plan explainer.
  • Keep the division’s number handy: (859) 280-8080, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, at 115 Cisco Road. In an emergency, call 911.

We will report the new director’s name when the mayor announces it.