List of heads of the Chicago Fire Department

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.

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

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)

Alexander Loyd

Dennis J. Swenie

Name	Tenure start	Tenure end	Mayor(s) served under	Notes	Ref
Hirman Hugunin	December 1835	February 17, 1836	N/AA		[3]
George E. Snow	February 17, 1836	February 1837	N/AA		[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 III John A. Roche DeWitt C. Cregier Hempstead Washburne Carter Harrison III 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