Fire Chief Phil Boriskie was appointed as Fire Chief by Mayor Bill White and confirmed by City Council on May 26, 2004. He is a 22-year veteran of the Houston Fire Department. Before his nomination, he was District Chief of district 4 in northwest Houston.
As the Commanding Officer of the nation’s fourth largest fire department, he is responsible for the management and well-being of over 4,000 department personnel. Chief Boriskie graduated from the University of Houston in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy.
"I am very pleased to serve as Fire Chief for this department and I look forward to continuing as the Commanding Officer of the men and women of this department, both classified and non-classified, who work diligently to provide quality service to the citizens of Houston." - Fire Chief Phil Boriskie
In March 2006, the Houston Fire Department was reorganized into four principal sections:
• Operations
• Planning
• Logistics
• Finance
Classified Executive Assistant Fire Chiefs head up Operations Planning,and Logistics, while a civilian Deputy Director is in charge of Finance. An additional seven classified Assistant Fire Chiefs report directly to a specfied Executive Assistant. The Executive Chiefs, and the Deputy Director, report directly to the Fire Chief.
This reorganization, based on the National Incident Management System (NIMS) model, has created a definite chain of command, a manageable span of control, and unity of command for our Command Staff. The concept was to allow HFD to streamline efforts by establishing a direct link between field and support personnel. The NIMS model placed all HFD personnel under the same command system, and ensures that we all share the same operating standards and speak the same language when we are propelled into action.
The organization, into the four principal sections, has been very effective in aligning like functions while at the same time leveraging the individual strengths of our Command Staff. By utilizing a manageable span of control, the 10 members of the Command Staff can effectively and efficiently supervise the operations within the 75 separate
division/groups within HFD.
The safety of our firefighters and the effectiveness of our department depend entirely on the teamwork. Firefighters depend on each other for their very existence, as they routinely enter the most hazardous conditions known to man.
Likewise, I feel it is important that the Command Staff have the same functionality and teamwork that is exhibited by our firefighters on the scene every day, so that we are ready to act as one team when the next emergency occurs, whether it be a routine call or a major crisis.
