Chief Chauffeurs

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Permalink Reply by Bobby Halton on June 8, 2010 at 11:15am

Matt, I know that the New York City fire Department and the Phoenix fire Department both still currently use chauffeurs for their chiefs vehicles. They have a wide range of responsibilities in both organizations. I believe the Phoenix system uses captains which enables them to pick up some of the administrative duties as well as support fires. The New York system I believe still uses firefighters who do assist with some administrative duties and help manage tracking and other fire ground activities.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Bricault (ret) on June 8, 2010 at 11:33am

-Matt, I know that Boston used them for many years. I'm not sure if they still do.
-My dept tried it but for some reason it never seemed to stick since we send an additional squad company to handle the safety and administrative needs of the Battalion at a working fire.
-The idea of a Batt. Chief aid/driver certainly seems more expedient, cost effective and feasible than our current option of an additional company. And it would definitely make the Batt. Chief's life easier.

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Permalink Reply by Rich Bartlett on June 9, 2010 at 3:02pm

Matt, Jersey City, NJ FD has a chauffeur for the Deputy Chief

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Permalink Reply by Gary Apple on June 9, 2010 at 5:12pm

Matt, I work for the Lewisville Texas Fire Department and I am assigned as an aide to a Battalion Chief. I hold the rank of Driver. We staff 7 stations with 130 firefighters on a24/7 basis and answer apporx.10,000 calls a year. My position's title is FIeld Incident Technician or FIT for short. My duties include making sure each firehouse is staffed with the appropriate number of firefighters and that they have the qualifications to operate there. ie. That an adequate amount of divers are in our station assigned to our Dive Rescue unit etc. We also assist in the scheduling of time off throughout the year. Besides staffing the FIT coordinates getting companies to training scheduled by our training division. The FIT also assist the BC in the tracking and entering of payroll to ensure our guys are paid properly. By far probably the most important responsibilty is assisting the Incident Commander on incidents requiring an IC. The FIT keeps up with personnel assigned and available for assignment on the fireground and is charged with knowing the location and assignments of companies should a catastrophic incident occur. Accountability is a huge part of the FIT's responsibilty.
I actually had the opportunity of doing a podcast with Lt. Chris Dalyssio FDNY(ret) about the Chief's Aide position that was hosted by my boss Chief Rick Lasky. Check it out on the Fire Engineering website. Hope this helps and if you need anything else let me know.
Gary Apple
FIT Lewisville Texas Fire Department

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Permalink Reply by Ed Watters on June 16, 2010 at 2:41am

Check out LAFD command teams on you tube. It will give you a good overview of the expectations that are required as a Chief Chauffeur or Staff Assistant. LAFD has 16 Battalion Command teams and three Division Command teams operating daily. It's was one of the best positions I've had to prepare me for Captain I. You will get the "Big Picture". In addition, these teams are deployed inside of structure fires on Major Incidents as Division supervisors. Their is also many administrative functions that you will be responsible such as setting up training within your battalion, monitoring EMT expiration dates and a host of other responsibilities.

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Permalink Reply by J noway on August 26, 2010 at 11:32pm

Kansas City Fire Department is the only place in the metro that uses a driver. This position is a captain and they are titled as the District Safety Officer and fill in when the Battalion is gone(7 battalions and 1 Deputy). They fill in as a safety officer on all working incidents with multiple companies. This fufills the requirement of NFPA 1710 as the battalion remains in command. And on a side note KCFD is the only department in the metro that is 1710 compliant thanks to their citizens and Chief "Smokey" Dyer. The DSO also does alot of admin duties but unfortunately I only work off duty with some KCFD guys and never really ask them what they do in the offices.

The department provides services from thirty-four fire stations located strategically throughout the city. The department is organized into seven battalions and each of the stations is assigned to one of seven on-duty battalion chiefs.

The department operates thirty-four Pumper Companies (engines), twelve Truck Companies (aerial ladders), three Rescue Companies (technical rescue), one ARFF Company (aviation rescue and fire fighting), one HazMat Company (hazardous materials), twenty seven ambulances, seven battalion chiefs (incident command response units) and one on-duty deputy chief who serves as the city wide commander for all KCFD missions.

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