Firefighting in The United States - Ranks and Insignia

Ranks and Insignia

There is no single standard system of rank insignia in use, but certain ranks are common. Many variations in insignia systems make use of the voice trumpet, a type of megaphone, and frequently referred to as a "bugle."

- Firefighter (occasionally Private) is the lowest rank. Often, it may be subdivided into grades (such as 1st Class, Senior, or Master Firefighter - typically awarded based on seniority), which may or may not be marked on the individual's badge or by uniform rank insignia.

- Driver, Engineer, or Fire Equipment Operator are used by many departments. Usually, no insignia is present, but the badge will often note the rank. Some will have multiple grades of this rank.

- Lieutenant is typically used as the lowest "fire officer" rank, usually being marked by a single trumpet, often in silver. Some departments instead use a single bar (as in military / police fashion), again, usually in silver. Others may use a single gold trumpet or bar. Some departments have multiple grades of lieutenant.

- Captain is used in most departments, usually being denoted with a pair of parallel trumpets or parallel bars, connected by a thin cross-bar, in either silver or gold. This is frequently used as a senior supervisor of an individual company or station, and sometimes oversees multiple Lieutenants, in addition to firefighters. (In Philadelphia, for example, a Captain on an engine company is the commanding officer of that firehouse, and although only working on 1 of 4 shifts as the company officer, the Captain is the supervising officer of the house overall and is reported to by the Lieutenants on the other 3 shifts, even though he/she is not present during those shifts.)

- Senior Captain is rarely used, and may be shown as 2 trumpets crossed.

- Battalion Chief (sometimes Division or District Chief) is often the highest ranking shift officer that is always on duty at any given time in a smaller department (i.e., the shift commander); or, in larger departments comprising multiple battalions, one would be assigned to supervise a complement of X amount of companies in each battalion in different parts of the city. (Boston, for example, has 9 District Chiefs that operate under 2 Division Chiefs city-wide, supervising a total of 34 Engines, 23 Ladders, and 2 Heavy Rescues - they were recently reduced from 11 total District Chiefs due to budget cuts, losing D5 and D10). This is usually the lowest chief rank. Typical insignia is two crossed gold trumpets or two stars, although some departments use 3 trumpets or 1 star. Some are occasionally identified with an oak leaf like a US military Major, as with the FDNY's BC collar insignia.

- Additional chief grades usually exist between Chief and Battalion Chief; usual insignia is 3 or 4 crossed gold trumpets or 3 or 4 stars. Common titles include District Chief, Division Chief, Assistant Chief, and Deputy Chief.

- Chief is usually the highest rank of a uniformed member in any given department, traditionally shown with 5 gold trumpets or 5 stars.

Additional ranks outside the normal chain may exist; Sergeants, Majors, and Inspectors are other ranks used by some departments. According to the 1986 Anchorage Fire Department Explorer Handbook, Anchorage Fire Department used a single gold trumpet for inspectors, and both single silver trumpet and single gold bar for lieutenants, depending upon assignment.

Many fire departments use cuff stripes as well as trumpet or military style insignia on their dress uniforms. Typically, they are the same in number and color as the bugles / stars worn, but variations exist.

Many departments also frequently display seniority Service stripes (hash marks) on the lower left sleeve of a dress uniform jacket, or sometimes long-sleeved uniform shirts, with years of service varying greatly between individual departments (each stripe typically represents anywhere from 2-5 years of service).