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Department Leaders

The DC Fire and EMS Department has had 28 Fire Chiefs since its founding in 1871. The first was Chief Engineer Martin Cronin, who was appointed on September 23, 1871, nine months after the United States Congress granted Washington, DC a municipal charter. Today, the Department is headed by John A. Donnelly, Sr., who was appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser on September 4, 2020.

Martin Cronin

September 23, 1871 - May 1, 1886

Joseph Parris

May 1, 1886 - May 1901

Robert Dutton

May 1, 1901 - June 30, 1903

William T. Belt

July 1, 1903 - December 13, 1908
Died in the line of duty.

Frank J Wagner

December 17, 1908 - September 1, 1920

George S. Watson

September 1, 1920 - February 4, 1934

Charles E. Schrom

February 7, 1934 - February 27, 1939
Died in the line of duty.

Stephen T. Porter

March 1, 1939 - March 1, 1946

Clement Murphy

March 1, 1946 -July 1, 1949

Joseph A. Mayhew

July 1, 1949 - January 31, 1952

Millard H. Sutton

January 31, 1952 - May 1, 1962

Raymond C. Roberts

May 1, 1962 - July 1, 1964

Henry Galotta

July 3, 1964 - September 1, 1968

Hugh A. Groves

November 20, 1968 - April 1, 1971

Joseph H. Mattare

May 19, 1971 - April 1, 1973

Burton W. Johnson

April 23, 1973 - March 1, 1978

Jefferson W. Lewis

March 19, 1978 - December 31, 1979

Norman Richardson

January 27, 1980 - March 19, 1982

Theodore Coleman

February 16, 1983 - December 1, 1988

Rayfield Alfred

December 1, 1988 - June 26, 1993

Otis Latin Sr.

November 1, 1993 - July 27, 1997

Donald Edwards

August 1, 1997 - November 30, 1999

Ronnie Few

July 10, 2000 - July 31, 2002

Adrian H. Thompson

March 18, 2003- January 01, 2007

Dennis Rubin

April 16, 2007 - January 2, 2011

Kenneth Ellerbe

January 2, 2011 - July 2, 2014

Gregory M. Dean

May 4th, 2015 - September 3, 2020

John Donnelly Sr.

September 4, 2020 - Present

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