Fall 2026 District Chief

City of Rockford Public Service Departments; Police, Fire, 911 Center; Rockford (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Rockford Fire Department in Rockford, Illinois, is seeking an experienced District Chief to supervise and coordinate fire suppression, EMS, hazardous materials, rescue, and training activities across all fire stations in the district.

The role requires current membership and rank as a Captain on a fire suppression company or as a fire training coordinator, with one year of service in the specified acting capacity not counting toward the requirement.

Qualifications

• Must be a current member of the Rockford Fire Department in Rockford, Illinois.
• Rank of Captain on a fire suppression company or as a fire training coordinator; time served in acting capacity does not count toward the one year.

Responsibilities

• Directs and supervises all Department forces in an assigned area, including firefighting, ARFF, hazardous materials, TRT, EMS, and other rescue and emergency services.
• Oversees equipment capability and staffing.
• Responds to major fire alarms and emergencies, makes technical decisions on extinguishing and EMS response.
• Maintains communication with Chiefs and division chiefs about incidents and issues.
• Develops incident action plans and ensures pre-plans are complete and accurate.
• Directs and supervises training and records for specialty teams and coordinates training schedules.

Job description

This is an INTERNAL CANDIDATES ONLY POSTING! To qualify for this position, you must be a current member of the Rockford Fire Department in Rockford, Illinois. Applicants must also be in the rank of Captain on a fire suppression company or as a fire training coordinator (time serving in the acting capacity does not count towards the one year). Any application submitted that does not meet the criteria listed above will be discarded.

Nature of Work

To serve the public with supervisory and administrative work in commanding and coordinating fire suppression, emergency medical services, hazardous materials incidents, water rescue, disaster control, extrication and training activities of all fire stations in an assigned district.

Distinguishing Features

• 1. Employees in this class are responsible for the effective and efficient use of personnel, apparatus, and equipment in extinguishing fires, performing emergency medical services, and rescue/mitigation work.
• 2.Supervision is exercised over all personnel in an assigned district.
• 3. Work is performed with considerable independence within established policies and procedures, and is reviewed by superiors through observation of the effectiveness of work performed and the proficiency of assigned subordinates.

Essential Functions (These essential duties are only illustrative.)

1. 1. Directs and supervises all Department forces in an assigned area of the City including firefighting, airport rescue and firefighting (ARFF), hazardous materials, technical rescue team (TRT), emergency medical services (EMS), and other rescue and emergency services.
2. 2. Oversees equipment capability including all relevant staffing.
3. 3. Responds to major fire alarms and emergencies within the Department’s response policies; ascertains the need for and type of additional equipment necessary to counteract the emergency; makes technical decisions as to the best methods of extinguishing fires and providing emergency medical services, rescue, and the mitigation of hazardous material incidents.
4. 4. Keeps the Chief of the Department, Operations Division Chief and all other Division Chiefs aware of any circumstances, incidents, accidents or issues of importance that occur during the shift.
5. 5. Assigns daily staffing on companies.
6. 6. Responsible for the command of all incidents including safety, public information, liaison with other agencies, operations, planning, logistics, and administration functions.
7. 7. Develops incident action plans (IAPs) for operations when necessary, including special events.
8. 8. Checks and ensures that all pre-plans are complete and accurate.
9. 9. Assesses damage, initiates cause and origin investigation, and maintains scene security at incidents.
10. 10. Investigates complaints and makes recommendations to the Operations Chief for actions to be taken.
11. 11. Notifies support agencies and the emergency service and disaster function of the Department when the situation warrants it.
12. 12. Makes regular inspections of company personnel quarters, equipment and records, and reviews and reports drills; coordinates maintenance and repair of fire apparatus; meets with Division Chiefs and other District Chiefs to coordinate operations.
13. 13. Instructs Company Officers in all phases of their work and enforces Departmental regulations; notifies the Fire Chief and Operations Division Chief of major directive violations and recommends discipline; supervises administrative details of the district; recommends or approves request for equipment, supplies, and repairs.
14. 14. Conduct semi-annual meetings to set team goals and address concerns.
15. 15. Recommends personnel changes for approval by superior Officers; counsels employees; inspects, tests, and evaluates new types of firefighting equipment, apparatus or tools for future procurement.
16. 16. Coordinates special projects assigned, such as water supply, high-rise procedures, hazardous material procedures, fire pre-plans, etc.
17. 17. Directs and supervises dive team members, including monitoring certification and recertification of the team.
18. 18. Completes reports and maintains district records as required by Department policy and Standard Operating Procedures.
19. 19. Monitors all safety activities on the fire ground and training.
20. 20. Evaluates assigned Officers during the year to assist individual career growth and works to develop leadership skills of all personnel assigned to shifts.
21. 21. Supervises activities of the Disaster Preparedness Committee and maintains Disaster Operations Kit for Headquarters and both district vehicles.
22. 22. Supervises Voiceshot All Call System including keeping an accurate and up-to-date phone directory for entire Department, including all specialty teams.
23. 23. Acts as spokesperson for the Department in the absence of the Chief of the Department or Division Chief responsible for the area of concern.
24. 24. Represents the Fire Department at special occasions by direction of the Chief of the Department or Division Chief of the area of concern.
25. 25. Represents the Department on Illinois Urban Search & Rescue Team.
26. 26. Monitors vacation, Kelly day, holiday, sick leave, duty injury or any other leave schedules of personnel in the assigned district; monitors all overtime activities.
27. 27. Assists the Chief and Division Chiefs with policy making and planning; attends staff meetings; oversees any and all emergency incidents or nonemergency activities as required.
28. 28. Represents the Department at meetings and gatherings; works as interface with other agencies in the community as assigned.
29. 29. Assists in coordinating a training schedule with Training Division Chief or other agencies as appropriate.
30. 30. Supervises all training and records for specialty teams, including a yearly training schedule and individual training records.
31. 31. Monitors wellness and fitness programs which promote Firefighter health and safety.
32. 32. Monitors and develops training for Department on disaster operations including Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)s.
33. 33. Monitors and develops rapid intervention team (RIT)/MAYDAY and corresponding SOP training online. Additionally, monitors all urban search and rescue (USAR) training and operations as well as all national incident management system (NIMS) training and compliance for shift personnel.
34. 34. Develops and conducts Commanding Rescue Operations for all Captains and Chief Officers. Additionally, develops and conducts Fire Ground Decision making classes for all Driver/Engineers and Officers as well as training simulations for all shift personnel.
35. 35. Oversees Department involvement with the United Way program including distributing information and collecting and charting donations, as needed.
36. 36. Maintains District Chief’s Reference Book and common inventory including rig and station inventories, updating as needed.
37. 37. Must have the ability to perform essential job functions of the rank of Firefighter/EMT.
38. 38. Maintains reasonable and predictable attendance. Years of service required to be a candidate for promotion.

District Chief

One (1) year of service with the Department in the rank of Captain on a fire suppression company or as a fire training coordinator (time serving in an acting capacity does not count toward the one year).