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Fire Chief skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical fire chief skills. We ranked the top skills for fire chiefs based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 10.0% of fire chief resumes contained fire protection as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a fire chief needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 fire chief skills for your resume and career

1. Fire Protection

Here's how fire chiefs use fire protection:
  • Designed and implemented department Officer Development Program in accordance with established National Fire Protection/International Association of Fire Chiefs guidelines.
  • Developed design specifications for the purchasing of all fire protection related tools and safety equipment.

2. Emergency Response

Here's how fire chiefs use emergency response:
  • Coordinated emergency response to major incidents including fires, mass casualty incidents, hazardous materials incidents, natural disasters and others.
  • Answer any technical or fire related questions field personnel may encounter while performing consultations or during emergency response.

3. Public Safety

Public safety can be defined as the well-being or protection of a community, citizen, or nation as a whole. There are 4 basic elements that come under public safety namely: national security, border policy, countering crime, and emergency management.

Here's how fire chiefs use public safety:
  • Developed fire contingency plans for a growing community where public safety issues commonly lagged behind annexation and growth.
  • Led combination fire and EMS department to achieve improved effectiveness in public safety emergency operations.

4. Fire Service

Here's how fire chiefs use fire service:
  • Completed study and certification as Fire Service Financial Manager.
  • Produced over 6,500 nationally recognized fire service certifications.

5. Fire Suppression

Fire suppression is the term used to describe any group of engineering systems designed to put out the fire in a building in the event of its unfortunate occurrence. Fire suppression systems are built to detect fire outbreaks and prevent them from escalating. The system usually comes with an alarm to alert residents so the fire can be extinguished on time before it spreads out.

Here's how fire chiefs use fire suppression:
  • Specify and procure necessary equipment and personal protection equipment for fire suppression operations
  • Fire suppression -Commercial and Residential.

6. Emergency Services

Here's how fire chiefs use emergency services:
  • Directed department's response to natural disasters, calls for emergency service, hazardous material incidents and other catastrophic incidents.
  • Headed first emergency services organization to receive international accreditation in the state of South Carolina.

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7. EMT

Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) provide urgent and emergent patients who enter the emergency medical services (EMS) system for out-of-hospital emergency medical treatment and transportation. EMTs are trained to stabilise and evacuate patients in a variety of situations, from non-emergency to regular hospital transports to life-threatening emergencies. Under the supervision of a physician, EMTs work as part of a robust EMS response scheme.

Here's how fire chiefs use emt:
  • Merged Fire and EMS Departments into one Department Trained all Personnel to Professional Firefighter 2 and EMT Upgraded EMS to ALS Service
  • Instructed cpr, first aid, Emergency Trauma Technincian and EMT classes.
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8. Medical Services

Here's how fire chiefs use medical services:
  • Direct supervision of 3 Deputy Chiefs, 1 HR Manager, and 3 Medical Services Captains and various support staff.
  • Led the integration of Fire and Emergency Medical Services from two separate entities into one municipal organization.

9. NFPA

Here's how fire chiefs use nfpa:
  • Coordinate the training of facility fire brigade members in accordance with OSHA and NFPA Standards.
  • Led by example, achieving all required Firefighter and HAZMAT professional qualifications per NFPA standards.

10. Training Programs

Here's how fire chiefs use training programs:
  • Implemented and evaluated department procedures including fire ground operations and various medical and Haz-Mat training programs.
  • Created training programs, implemented program requirements and managerial expectations.

11. Personnel Management

Here's how fire chiefs use personnel management:
  • Performed supervisory personnel management responsibilities.
  • Take or recommend disciplinary, commendatory, and other personnel management actions

12. Emergency Situations

Here's how fire chiefs use emergency situations:
  • Direct all fire ground operations and equipment to mitigate emergency situations.
  • Assume unified command and coordination functions during emergency situations.

13. Incident Command System

Incident command system is a standard format that dictates the control, command, and procedures of emergency responses. Its purpose is to provide a chain of command that first responders from different agencies can use in the event of emergencies. It makes the response system effective and eliminates confusion that may arise from the hierarchy. It was developed to address the challenges faced by inter-agency responses to wildfires in Arizona and California but is now being used in the entire United States.

Here's how fire chiefs use incident command system:
  • Directed emergency operations using the National Incident Command System.
  • Performed in all phases of the Incident Command System during Hazardous Materials spills/releases.

14. Firefighting

Here's how fire chiefs use firefighting:
  • Manage crews as Incident Commander during tactical firefighting operations, emergency medical responses, hazardous materials incidents and airfield operations.
  • Served as a firefighter assigned to drive and operate firefighting vehicles of significant complexity.

15. Hazmat

Hazmat is a combination of the words ‘hazardous' and ‘material'. The meaning of this word is found in the integration of the aforementioned words -- which is dangerous or toxic material.

Here's how fire chiefs use hazmat:
  • Provided investigative reports on fire, hazmat and environmental infractions.
  • Performed as Incident /On-Scene Commander for all fire, rescue, hazmat, and EMS events and exercises.
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List of fire chief skills to add to your resume

Fire Chief Skills

The most important skills for a fire chief resume and required skills for a fire chief to have include:

  • Fire Protection
  • Emergency Response
  • Public Safety
  • Fire Service
  • Fire Suppression
  • Emergency Services
  • EMT
  • Medical Services
  • NFPA
  • Training Programs
  • Personnel Management
  • Emergency Situations
  • Incident Command System
  • Firefighting
  • Hazmat
  • Fire/EMS
  • Hazardous Materials Incidents
  • Fire Prevention Programs
  • Fire Safety
  • Medical Emergencies
  • Emergency Operations
  • CPR
  • Emergency Management
  • State Fire
  • Fire Equipment
  • Fire Hazards
  • ISO
  • Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus
  • Responder
  • Emergency Calls
  • DOD
  • Fire Apparatus
  • Oversight
  • ALS
  • Emergency Incidents
  • Public Education
  • Nims
  • Rescue Operations
  • Fire Inspections
  • Strategic Plan
  • Advanced Life Support
  • Federal Agencies
  • County Fire
  • Medical Care
  • Fire Training
  • Code Enforcement
  • Arff
  • Technical Rescue
  • Emergency Scenes
  • Performance Standards

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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