Some call him “Hink” and some call him “Cap” and others call him “Chinkle.” He’s a high-energy guy. Being busy is how he likes life and busy he is – a 16-year veteran of the Knoxville Fire Dept. (KFD), a Vestal and South Knoxville guy – Capt. Chris Hinkle.
Today he’s the Red Shift captain at Station 6 on Holston Hills Drive, a storied firehall that is 88 years young, built in 1937, and scheduled for replacement in 2026. The new $8.6 million Burlington Fire Station No. 6 will be built a block away from the current station and it covers the Burlington community plus Holston Hills and Magnolia Avenue accidents and incidents on I-40 and I-75, averaging approximately 1,600 calls a year.
He and his family celebrated his 39th birthday this past Wednesday. Life revolves around his family – wife Lauren Brichetto Hinkle and their two baseball-loving sons, Jase, 12, a South Doyle Middle 7th-grade student, and Nolan, 9, a 4th grader at Mt. Olive Elementary. Jase is his school’s third baseman and plays for the Tomahawks Travel Team. Nolan plays for the Bower Lightning team. Lauren is an ultrasound tech for an OB/GYN practice at UT Medical Center.
“Seems like baseball is non-stop for me,” Chris says. He’s also an assistant coach on their teams…