List of heads of the Chicago Fire Department

Head of the Chicago Fire Department
Incumbent Annette Nance Holt since 2021
Inaugural holder	Hirman Hugunin (as "Chief Engineer")
Formation	1835 (as "Chief Engineer")

The following is a list of heads of the Chicago Fire Department in Chicago, Illinois United States. This includes heads of the original iteration of Chicago's fire department, a volunteer force which preceded the establishment of the current, professional, fire department in 1858.

Currently the executive of the Chicago Fire Department is referred to as the "fire commissioner".[1] Before this, the head of the department was known as the "chief engineer".

The current head, holding the position of "fire commissioner", is Annette Nance Holt, appointed by mayor Lori Lightfoot in 2021.[1]

History

Currently, the head of the Chicago Fire Department is appointed by the mayor of Chicago, and confirmed by the Chicago City Council.

Originally, the leader of the Chicago Fire Department was known as chief engineer. This position was created by an ordinance passed by the then-village of Chicago's board of trustees in November 1835. In December 1835, Chicago's board of trustees appointed its president Hirman Hugunin to be the inaugural occupant of this position.[2][3] In 1837, when Chicago was incorporated as a city, its charter had the position be one which was elected annually by the city's voters. If an election saw no candidates, thus failing to produce an occupant of the office, the Chicago Common Council (as the Chicago City Council was known as the time) would appoint one.[3] This position originally oversaw a volunteer fire department, until the modern iteration of the Chicago Fire Department was established by city ordinance on August 2, 1858.[3]

In 1927, the title of chief engineer was replaced with the new title of fire commissioner.[3]

List of heads of the Chicago Fire Department

Chief Engineers (1835–1927)

Name	Tenure start	Tenure end	Mayor(s) served under	Notes	Ref
Hirman Hugunin	December 1835	February 17, 1836	N/A^A		[3]
George E. Snow	February 17, 1836	February 1837	N/A^A		[3]
John M. Turner	February 1837	1839	William B. Ogden Buckner S. Morris		[3]
Alexander Loyd	1839	1839	Benjamin Wright Raymond		[3]
Alvin Calhoun	1839	1840	Benjamin Wright Raymond		[3]
Luther Nichols	1840	1841	Alexander Loyd		[3]
A.S. Sherman	1841	1844	Francis C. Sherman Benjamin Wright Raymond Augustus Garrett		[3]
Stephen F. Gale	1844	1847	Alson Sherman Augustus Garrett John P. Chapin		[3]
Charles E. Peck (acting)	1847	1849	James Curtiss James H. Woodworth		[3]
Ashley Gilbert	1849	1850	James H. Woodworth		[3]
Cyrus P. Bradley	1850	1851	James Curtiss		[3]
	1851	1852	Walter S. Gurnee
U.P. Harris	1852	1854	Walter S. Gurnee Charles McNeill Gray		[3]
Cyrus P. Bradley	1854	1855	Isaac L. Milliken		[3]
Silas McBride	1855	1857	Levi Boone Thomas Dyer		[3]
Dennis J. Swenie	1858	March 1859	John Wentworth		[3][4]
Dennis J. Swenie	November 10, 1879	June 1, 1909	Carter Harrison Sr. John A. Roche DeWitt C. Cregier Hempstead Washburne Carter Harrison Sr. George Bell Swift (interim) John P. Hopkins George Bell Swift Carter Harrison Jr.		[3]

Fire Commissioners (1927–present)

Name	Tenure start	Tenure end	Mayor(s) served under	Notes	Ref
Albert Goodrich	1927	1931	William Hale Thompson Anton Cermak		[3][5]
Edward A. Maloney (acting)	1931	August 15, 1931	Anton Cermak		[6]
Daniel J. Carmody (acting)	August 15, 1931	September 1931	Anton Cermak	Died in office	[6][7]
Michael J. Corrigan	1937	March 16, 1955	Edward Joseph Kelly Martin H. Kennelly		[3][8]
Anthony J. Mullaney	April 16, 1955	1957	Edward Joseph Kelly Richard J. Daley		[9][3][10]
Robert J. Quinn	March 1957	1978	Richard J. Daley Michael Bilandic		[3]
Richard Albrecht	1978	August 1980	Michael Bilandic Jane Byrne		[3]
Charles Pierce (acting)	August 1980	September 1980	Jane Byrne		[3]
William R. Blair	September 1980	August 1983	Jane Byrne Harold Washington		[3]
Louis T. Galante	August 1983	May 10, 1989	Harold Washington David Orr (acting) Eugene Sawyer Richard M. Daley		[3]
Raymond E. Orozco	May 10, 1989	November 1996	Richard M. Daley		[3][11]
Edward P. Altman	1996	October 15, 1999	Richard M. Daley		[12]
James Joyce	December 15, 1999	April 30, 2004	Richard M. Daley		[3][13]
Cortez Trotter	2004	2006	Richard M. Daley		[14][15]
Raymond E. Orozco Jr.	May 2006	June 2010	Richard M. Daley
Robert Hoff	June 2010	February 16, 2012	Richard M. Daley Rahm Emanuel		[16]
Jose Santiago	April 18, 2012	August 31, 2018	Rahm Emanuel		[17][18][19]
Richard C. Ford II	September 1, 2018	April 2021	Rahm Emanuel Lori Lightfoot	Served as acting commissioner from September 1, 2018 until being confirmed by the Chicago City Council to permanently hold the position on November 14, 2018	[18][20][21]
Annette Nance Holt	2021	incumbent	Lori Lightfoot Brandon Johnson	Initially performed as acting fire commissioner. Was confirmed as permanent fire commissioner by the Chicago City Council on June 23, 2021	[22][23][24]

Notes

^A Hirman Hugunin and George E Snow's tenures predate the incorporation of Chicago as a city. While no mayor was serving at the time they were High Constable, John H. Kinzie was Town President

See also

• List of heads of the Chicago Police Department
• Fire chief

References

1. "Fire - Leadership". www.chicago.gov. City of Chicago. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
2. "Meet "Chicago's Twins"". www.firehouse.com. 1 September 2005. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
3. "HISTORY OF THE CHICAGO FIRE DEPARTMENT" (PDF). chicago.gov. City of Chicago. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
4. "Chief Swenie". chicagology.com. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
5. "A.W. GOODRICH IS DEAD; EX-FIRE COMMISSIONER". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. 31 Mar 1938. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
6. "DANIEL CARMODY APPOINTED HEAD OF FIRE DEPT". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. 16 Aug 1931. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
7. "Fire Commissioner of Chicago Dead". Fire Engineering. 1933-10-01. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
8. "CORRIGAN QUITS AND MULLANEY GETS HIS JOB". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. 16 Mar 1955. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
9. "NEW COMMISSIONER". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. 17 Mar 1955. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
10. "ANTHONY J. MULLANEY". The New York Times. 1960-11-29. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
11. Zielinski, Graeme (15 November 1996). "RETIRING CHIEF KEPT POLITICAL FIRE AT BAY". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
12. Almer, Ellen (15 October 1999). "Chicago Fire Commissioner Edward Altman resigned today..." Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
13. Washburn, Gary (28 December 1999). "NEW FIRE CHIEF SHAKES UP DEPARTMENT". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
14. Washburn, Gary (2 April 2004). "Joyce exits; Daley taps 1st black chief". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
15. "Trotter Named Chief Emergency Officer, Orozco New Fire Commissioner for Chicago". GovTech. 2010-07-28. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
16. "Chicago Fire Commissioner Hoff Resigns". www.firehouse.com. 16 February 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
17. Spielman, Fran (2018-08-12). "Chicago fire commissioner awaits his fate as he nears mandatory retirement age". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
18. "Mayor Emanuel Taps Richard Ford II As New Fire Commissioner". chicago.cbslocal.com. CBS Chicago (WBBM-TV). 2018-09-21. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
19. "CITY COUNCIL APPROVES JOSE SANTIAGO AS CHICAGO FIRE DEPARTMENT COMMISSIONER" (PDF). Office of the Mayor of the City of Chicago. 18 April 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
20. "Will Chicago get its first Black female fire chief? | The Crusader Newspaper Group". Chicago Crusader. 23 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
21. "CITY COUNCIL CONFIRMS MAYOR EMANUEL'S APPOINTMENT OF RICHARD FORD AS NEW FIRE COMMISSIONER" (PDF). Office of the Mayor of the City of Chicago. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
22. "Annette Nance-Holt Becomes First Black Woman to Lead Chicago Fire Department". NBC Chicago. 23 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
23. "First Black female fire commissioner nominee awaits City Council approval | The Crusader Newspaper Group". Chicago Crusader. 21 May 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
24. "Annette Nance-Holt becomes Chicago Fire Department Commissioner". Chicago Defender. 2021-05-15. Retrieved 14 June 2021.