Fire Chief

Overview

The City of Bastrop is seeking an experienced and dynamic Fire Chief to lead our Fire Department into the future. This is a unique opportunity to shape emergency services, foster innovation, and ensure the safety and resilience of our growing community. The Fire Department is a combination department responsible for providing fire protection services to over 10,000 residents within the 9 square miles of the city limits with one fire station that runs an average of 1,200 calls annually.

The Department has 12 full-time paid firefighters and a volunteer force. Bastrop Fire Department promotes fire prevention and education, responds to fire, medical, and rescue calls. Bastrop is a growing community and opportunity is to be part of the Fire Department Team.

Under the general direction of the City Manager, the Fire Chief is responsible for planning, operations, growth, and development of the Fire Prevention Division. The position interprets and enforces the Fire and Life Safety Codes, provides technical assistance and recommendations to builders and developers, investigates fire cause and origin, identifies criminal activities related to fire cause and/or arson, preserves evidence, and testifies in court.

Participates in all emergency and non-emergency operations as deemed necessary.

Performs responsible management, technical and administrative work in developing and implementing a comprehensive fire prevention program. Under limited supervision, directs and manages the Fire Prevention Division's activities and employees; and assures the Department’s compliance with state and Federal laws and the public safety goals of the City.

This is the first level of inspections work. This position reviews plans, inspects, approves, or rejects all phases of public and private construction and improvements to assure compliance with plans, standards, specifications, codes and regulations, permits, and any special requirements. May recommend alternative solutions and issue correction notices or approvals as appropriate, compile reports, maintain logs and records, and perform related activities.

Acts as an investigator on fire scenes to determine cause and origin; enforces fire prevention codes; investigates fires; obtains and serves warrants; assists with direction of fire and rescue operations.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS
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Essential functions, as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, may include any of the following representative duties, knowledge, and skills. This is not a comprehensive listing of all functions and duties performed by incumbents of this class; employees may be assigned duties which are not listed below; reasonable accommodations will be made as required. The job description does not constitute an employment agreement and is subject to change at any time by the employer.

Essential duties and responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Organizes, plans, coordinates, supervises, and evaluates Fire Department operations.
• Establishes policies and procedures for Fire Department operations.
• Plans and implements fire activities, programs, and operations to better carry out the city’s policies and goals, focusing on recruitment and training.
• Reviews departmental performance and effectiveness; formulates programs or policies to alleviate deficiencies.
• Develops budget plans, projections, and justifications for annual budget for the Fire Department to present to the City Manager; directs the implementation of the department’s approved budget, controlling expenditures to stay within budget.
• Researches equipment needs, specifications, and costs; prepares and approves purchase orders and bid specifications with the approval of the City Manager.
• Plans departmental operations with respect to equipment, apparatus, and personnel; and supervises the implementation of such plans.
• Responds to alarms and directs activities at the scene of major emergencies, as required.
• Oversees the inspection of buildings and other properties for fire hazards and enforces fire prevention ordinances.
• Supervises the operation of departmental in-service training activities and encourages and assists…