Fire Chief – City of Fairfax, VA

Fire Chief Position

The Fire Chief serves as a key member of the City's executive leadership team and is responsible for providing strategic, administrative, operational, and cultural leadership for a high-performing combination fire and rescue organization. The successful candidate will be a visible, engaged, and hands-on leader capable of balancing executive responsibilities with operational credibility.

Primary responsibilities include:

• Providing leadership for fire suppression, EMS, technical rescue, emergency management, fire prevention, code administration, training, and community risk-reduction programs.
• Leading, developing, and supporting career and volunteer personnel while maintaining a culture of professionalism, accountability, safety, and service excellence.
• Managing departmental budgets, staffing, capital planning, apparatus and equipment replacement, facilities, and long-range operational planning.
• Ensuring operational readiness through training, professional development, incident command capability, and performance evaluation.
• Advancing EMS quality, clinical readiness, and innovative service-delivery practices that improve community outcomes.
• Serving as a collaborative member of the City Manager's leadership team and working closely with elected officials, city departments, regional public safety partners, George Mason University, employee groups, and community stakeholders.
• Maintaining a productive working relationship with the Fairfax Volunteer Fire Department while supporting its unique governance structure and ensuring accountability for department-wide operations and safety.

Qualified candidates must possess:

• A bachelor's degree in fire service administration, public administration, emergency management, public safety, management, or a closely related field; a master's degree is preferred.
• Significant progressively responsible fire and EMS leadership experience, including command-level experience in a public fire and rescue organization.
• Experience managing fire suppression, EMS, training, fire prevention, emergency management, budgeting, personnel, and capital planning functions.
• Demonstrated leadership in a combination career/volunteer environment or the ability to build strong collaborative relationships with volunteer organizations and community partners.
• Exceptional communication, integrity, judgment, and leadership skills.

Salary range: $117,373–$252,649, dependent upon qualifications and experience. No residency requirement. The City offers a comprehensive benefits package.

Interested candidates should apply online at  by September 7, 2026, and submit a cover letter and resume. Questions may be directed to Jon Fehlman, MGT Senior Consultant.

The City of Fairfax is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status, or any other legally protected status.