How To Become A Deputy Fire Chief: What It Is and Career Path

What is a deputy fire chief and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average deputy fire chief salary is $104,289. The most common degree is a associate degree degree with an fire science and protection major. It usually takes 6-8 years of experience to become a deputy fire chief. Deputy fire chiefs with a Certified Law Enforcement Analysts (CLEA) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 189,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreDeputy Fire ChiefUS Average

Salary

7.7

Avg. Salary $104,289

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.8

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.03%

Asian 2.26%

Black or African American 5.86%

Hispanic or Latino 8.25%

Unknown 5.87%

White 76.73%

Gender

female 3.96%

male 96.04%

Age - 49

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 49

Stress level

9.8

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.8

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a deputy fire chief

Explore deputy fire chief education requirements

Most common deputy fire chief degrees

Associate

48.5 %

Bachelor's

32.7 %

Master's

9.1 %

Start to develop specific deputy fire chief skills

Skills	Percentages
Emergency Response	11.15%
Fire Protection	10.61%
Life Safety	10.46%
Fire Suppression	5.05%
Personnel Management	4.70%

Complete relevant deputy fire chief training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New deputy fire chiefs learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a deputy fire chief based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real deputy fire chief resumes.

Research deputy fire chief duties and responsibilities

Achieve advance levels of Fire/EMS management certification.
Provide performance oversight of inspections/preventive maintenance of fire apparatus and firefighting equipment.
Maintain department personnel and equipment records in accordance with privacy act and NFPA requirements.
Conduct plans reviews of building construction projects ensuring compliance with NFPA, local and regional reference code compliance documents.

Prepare your deputy fire chief resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your deputy fire chief resume.

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Choose from 10+ customizable deputy fire chief resume templates

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