Captain is a rank in various fire services. In most American and Canadian fire services, a captain ranks above a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

and below a

battalion chief A battalion chief is the rank and title of a subordinate fire chief or commanding officer in the firefighting command structure. The title of battalion chief is usually synonymous with firefighting in the United States and Canada. A battalion chi ...

, and therefore two grades above a regular firefighter. This varies, though, between departments – In the

Los Angeles County Fire Department The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) provides firefighting services as well as technical rescue services, hazardous materials response services and emergency medical response services for the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County ...

, for example, engineer is the next lowest rank below captain. A captain is typically in charge of a fire company, a group of firefighters who are assigned to the same

fire apparatus A firefighting apparatus describes any vehicle that has been customized for use during firefighting operations. These vehicles are highly customized depending on their needs and the duty they will be performing. These duties can include firefighti ...

. The captain is responsible for the welfare and performance of the company's personnel and the maintenance of the apparatus. In a single-apparatus fire station, the captain is also the overall manager of the station. Fire departments typically arrange the shifts so that a captain can be present at most emergencies. Besides those who work at fire stations, captains are employed in other roles such as managing training. The rank of captain does not always have a direct equivalent in the United Kingdom and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

countries outside of Canada. These fire services are more often organized around a "watch". Whereas a company is a group of firefighters who work different shifts on the same apparatus, a watch is a group of firefighters who work the same shift on more than one apparatus. Like a captain in American and Canadian fire departments, the watch manager is two grades above a regular firefighter. In the

New Zealand Fire Service The New Zealand Fire Service ( mi, Whakaratonga Iwi, "Service to the People"; also known as the NZFS) was New Zealand's main firefighting body from 1 April 1976 until 1 July 2017 – at which point it was dissolved and incorporated into the new ...

in the early 1980s, a captain was in charge of a station. The NZFS has now moved to senior station officer and station officer as station management ranks. The person in charge of a fire brigade is the

chief fire officer Chief fire officer (CFO), formerly often just chief officer, is the highest rank in the fire and rescue services of the United Kingdom. There are currently 50 chief fire officers serving in the United Kingdom in charge of the local authority fire ...

, and captain is no longer used.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fire Captain Firefighter ranks