Chief Kelly Blackmon moved to Las Vegas in 1977 from Southern California. She holds a bachelor's in English and a master's in Public Administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Chief Blackmon began her career with the Clark County Fire Department in 1995 in the Administration Division where she worked with the Communications, Life Support and Rural Divisions of the department. During this time, she also assisted with Human Resources and Recruitment. In 1999, she was promoted into the Fire Prevention Division where she served as a fire inspector trainee, fire inspector and was a member of the Hazardous Materials Inspection Team. During her tenure as a fire inspector, she attained NFPA Fire Inspector I and II, ICC Uniform Fire Code Inspector and Fire Inspector II, and Nevada State Fire Marshal Fire Inspector I certifications. In 2003, she was promoted to Senior Management Analyst where she managed the department's budget. During this time, she received a Grants Management certificate in support of Nevada Task Force 1. She also attended the National Fire Academy focusing on Fire Service Financial Management and Executive Planning. In 2010, she was promoted to deputy fire chief over the Fire Prevention Division where she currently serves as the Fire Marshal for Clark County.

She is a graduate of Clark County's Leadership Forum Class of 2002.

Chief Blackmon has been married for 18 years to her husband John, a native Las Vegan, and together they have two children, Nicholas and Kristen.