Fire Chief: Job Ad

The Town of Kensington seeks a part-time Fire Chief to lead Kensington Fire Rescue. The Chief leads a team of officers in planning, organizing, coordinating, and directing all activities of Kensington Fire Rescue consistent with NH RSAs and NFPA guidelines. The hours of the Fire Chief vary week-to-week but are expected to range from 20-30 hours per week on average. High priorities are willingness to cover the station for daytime EMS calls, commitment to recruitment and training, and willingness and ability to delegate.

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

Kensington Fire Rescue is a small paid-on-call municipal fire department with fifteen highly-active members, notable for its professionalism, highly-trained membership, customer service orientation, and a supportive, safety-conscious organizational culture. KFR provides all-hazards response on an on-call basis to the rural Town of Kensington (pop. 2100; 12 sq. mi.) and its mutual aid district. In addition to automatic aid agreements with neighboring towns, the department is also part of the Seacoast Chief Fire Officers Mutual Aid District. The department maintains its own ambulance transport service, comprising the majority of its 200-225 calls per year. At present the department maintains two combination engine/tankers, a reserve engine, a forestry truck, a UTV with enclosed trailer, and an ambulance, in a small fire station located in the center of town. The Chief is supported by a team of highly-trained officers, seasoned senior firefighters, and eager new members, in addition to a Board of Selectmen, Town Administrator, Code Enforcement Officer, and other colleagues in municipal government.

QUALIFICATIONS

Time And Residency

●      Residence within 30-minute drive of Kensington, NH required; residence within 20-minute drive preferred;

●      Willingness to work from station for 3-5 partial shifts per week to increase daytime EMS coverage preferred (required if residence further than 20 minutes from Kensington, NH);

Education and Certifications

●      Required: High School diploma, Firefighter I and II, EMT-B, CDL, Fire Instructor I, Fire Officer I;

●      Preferred: Bachelor’s Degree in fire science, public administration, emergency management, or a related field, Firefighter III (or equivalent technician courses), Driver-Operator, EMT-A, Fire Officer II;

 

 

 

Experience

●      Ten or more years of experience in fire/rescue service or equivalent combination of education and experience required;

●      Three or more years of experience as an officer required;

●      Experience with fire inspections preferred;

Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities

●      Strong communication, interpersonal skills, and diplomatic ability;

●      A progressive, people-focused attitude towards leadership;

●      Passion for training, coaching, and developing members and leaders;

●      Comfort with delegating appropriate tasks, including administrative functions and leadership/command roles when appropriate, to capable members and officers;

●      Ability to craft a vision for the future of the fire department, its physical infrastructure, and the challenges facing the rural NH fire service;

●      Ability to conduct fire inspections and weigh in on building permit applications from a fire prevention perspective;

●      Thorough knowledge of modern firefighting practices, command and ICS principles, EMS, building construction, code enforcement, operations and maintenance of firefighting, rescue, and EMS equipment and apparatus;

●      Thorough working knowledge of New Hampshire fire prevention laws, regulations, fire and building code, as well as NFPA guidelines;

 

Interested applicants should submit a resume, cover letter, and application form via email to KensingtonFireRescue24@gmail.com. Candidates may write the search committee chair, Lt. Ben Cole, at this email address with any questions about the position, the department, or the hiring process. Review of applications begins July 23, but applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

 

The link for the town’s employment application is below.

https://www.town.kensington.nh.us/sites/g/files/vyhlif736/f/uploads/employment_application.doc_0.pdf