Fire Chief - Fire Rescue

Fire And Emergency Services Director

Oversee, direct, support, and coordinate all operational and administrative activities of the County Fire and Emergency Services Department (County Fire), including Fire Administrative section, and career and volunteer staff.

Essential duties include :

Oversee long-range Fire and Emergency Services planning and direction for the County.

Provide written and oral presentations on operational and long-range planning to all levels of the organization.

Analyze and coordinate Fire and Emergency Services strategy, policies, and procedures.

Provide information to departments for departmental planning and operation.

Monitor departmental expenditures to ensure the department operates within budget while meeting the goals and objectives.

Justify budget requests, schedule annual expenses, and recurring costs.

Participate as a member of the County's management team.

Coordinate with other departments to integrate projects of mutual concern.

Coordinate with Federal, State, and local agencies to obtain funding assistance.

Provide input to senior staff to improve the level and quality of services.

Serve as Authority Having Jurisdiction within the unincorporated areas of Dona Ana County to enforce all applicable laws and regulations, nationally recognized codes and standards pertaining to fire and emergency preparedness and response, and transport of EMS patient care.

Adopt, implement, and enforce fire safety and emergency preparedness codes and ordinances now in effect or hereafter adopted.

Develop, implement, oversee, and review standards, policies, procedures, rules, regulations, and protocols for County Fire Rescue, both career and volunteer.

Maintain and protect licenses and authorities held by County Fire for the delivery of emergency services as required by all applicable laws and regulations.

Ensure that any violations of fire laws, codes, and / or ordinances are investigated in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.

Ensure Fire Code and Building Code compliance for all new and existing buildings within all unincorporated areas within Dona Ana County, to include road access for emergency response vehicles.

Draft and propose Fire Code amendments as needed to ensure compliance with New Mexico State codes.

Oversee emergency planning and preparedness, and procedures.

Develop, recommend, oversee, and manage department budget.

Coordinate with local, State, and Federal agencies to obtain additional funding assistance for the Department.

Oversee emergency medical services, including contracts with medical director and EMTs to ensure that our adopted emergency response standards, policies, procedures, rules, regulations, and protocols are followed. Ensure quality patient care is provided by responders.

Participate in Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Authority (MVRDA) meetings.

Participate in Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) meetings, trainings, and projects to ensure that the county is prepared to address man-made and natural emergency incidents.

Directs the preparation of special and recurring reports and makes presentations to the appropriate body as necessary.

Works in good faith with union representatives on workplace issues to ensure the best interests of the Department and members.

Composes a yearly report of data pertaining to the Department's status, to measure areas of effectiveness and areas for improvement.

Establish and oversee a process for recruiting, retaining, training, and promoting County career and volunteer staff.

Ensure adequate staffing and budgetary support for the training function.

Develop, maintain, and upgrade standards, policies, rules, regulations, and protocols.

Ensure that all staff and emergency personnel have been trained in all established County employee policies and procedures, and County Fire Rescue standard operating guidelines.

Prepare and administer the annual budget, forecasting future financial needs for personnel, equipment, materials, and supplies by incorporating both capital expenditures and operational costs.

Secure fire scenes and conduct comprehensive fire scene investigations to determine origin and cause, conduct witness interviews, and complete required reports to document the incident. Initiate legal action according to applicable law or regulation.

Respond to major incidents such as fire, hazardous materials, and mass casualty to assist in incident mitigation; participate in firefighting and life-saving activities; information gathering, coordination of resources to include those services provided through the Office of Emergency Management, and activation of emergency messages for the community when required.

Review operating reports to ensure the effectiveness of all Department sections and districts in a timely fashion according to applicable law, regulation, or policy.

Assist the Emergency Operations Center with the mitigation of emergency incidents.

Arrange communications systems and networks necessary to adequately dispatch and / or communicate with facilities and dispatch equipment and personnel within the County in response to fires, accidents, medical emergencies, explosions, and natural disasters.

Develop and implement a fire safety, public educational program for youths and community groups within the unincorporated areas of Doa Ana County.

Participates in various community committees as a representative of Doa Ana County Fire Rescue.

Coordinate with other departments to integrate projects of mutual concern.

Coordinate with local, State, and Federal agencies to obtain additional funding assistance for the department.

Provide input to County management to improve the level and quality of services the County provides.

Additional duties may be assigned.

Qualifications :

Education : Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Applied Science, Business Administration, Public Administration, Government, Fire Engineering / Science, or a closely related field.

Experience : A minimum of fourteen (14) years of career fire service experience to include operations, emergency medical services (EMS), training, safety, and / or fire and life safety, with at least eight (8) years in a supervisory and / or managerial capacity. Prior experience in managing a combination career and volunteer department of similar size that provided fire-based EMS service in a rural and urban environment, developing and maintaining hazard assessment plans, coordinating disaster preparedness activities, short- and long-range goal planning, budgeting, program and policy development, employee and labor relations, and prior experience working with a labor union, or closely related experience is desirable.

Licenses / Certifications Required :

New Mexico Class E driver's license.

IFSAC or ProBoard Firefighter II.

IFSAC or ProBoard Fire Instructor I

IFSAC or ProBoard Fire Officer I, II, and III

IFSAC or ProBoard Inspector I / II certification within two (2) years of employment.

ICS 100, 200, 300, 400, 700, 800.

Current New Mexico Emergency Medical Technician Basic license or above (preferred).

IFSAC or ProBoard Fire Officer IV (preferred).

IFSAC or ProBoard Fire Investigator I (preferred).

Equivalent certifications may be accepted upon review. Other licenses or certifications may be required within a specific date of hire.

The incumbent must maintain certifications and licensures for continued employment.

Other :

Must undergo and pass a comprehensive background review, integrity testing, and NFPA 1582 medical exams. Must have a valid driver's license and maintain a satisfactory driving record.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Required :

Knowledge of : Principles and practices of public administration and management, including budgeting, finance, project management, employee training, employee supervision, and conflict resolution.

Major sources of information and principal documents relevant to emergency response and hazardous materials; fire code inspections, investigations, plan reviews, and public fire education