Houston Fire Department

Fire Chief

Fire Chief Samuel Peña
832.394.6702
500 Jefferson, Ste. 1700
Houston, TX 77002


Fire Chief Samuel Pena

Samuel Peña is a 28-year veteran of the fire service and has been chief of the Houston Fire Department (HFD) since December 19, 2016. Chief Peña leads the third largest municipal fire department in the country with approximately 3,900 personnel and an annual budget of over $559 million. He previously served 3 years 9 months as fire chief in El Paso, Texas.

Peña completed his paramedic training at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center EMS Division in 1998. He served previously as Task Force leader for the El Paso Hazardous Materials Team and Special Rescue team; coordinator for the combined search and rescue (ComSAR) mountain rescue team; Strategic Planning Chief, Public Information Office, Training Chief, and Assistant Chief of Emergency Operations. Chief Peña has served in the City of Houston Unified Command directing the Houston Fire Department assets during Hurricane Harvey, Tropical Storm Imelda, Tropical Storm Beta, Hurricane Nicholas, Winter Storm Uri, Super Bowl 51, World Series 2017, 2019, 2021, and the Watson Grinding explosion in 2020.

Chief Peña holds a Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Texas at El Paso, and served four years as a command and control specialist in the U.S. Air Force.

Memberships: International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC); IAFC Terrorism and Homeland Security Committee; Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA); National Association of Search and Rescue.