Understanding the Role of the Fire Chaplain

A Fire Chaplain’s job is not an easy one. Their main purpose is to help firefighters and fire department members in the event of an injured or killed firefighter. They’re also available to personnel for grief counseling. They lend an ear for those who need to talk about something that is bothering them, such as physical or emotional stress. The goal of our Fire Chaplains is to aid, comfort and help firefighters and their families.

Fire Chaplains, while bound in religious tradition, can also serve as non-denominational and non-sectarian in his or her chaplaincy. A Fire Chaplain will usually find out a firefighter’s or family of a firefighter’s religious preference and notify a nearby church. Most Fire Chaplains are volunteers. However, some may be employed either part-time or full-time by a fire department or outside agency and receive compensation.

In rural areas, a Fire Chaplain can be a local pastor who volunteers their time to help a fire department. There are also firefighters who have ministry experience that volunteer their time when off-duty to do chaplain work. Our Fire Chaplains volunteer their time to assist our members. Many of them are also chaplains within their local fire department.  

Every department has different needs, depending on where you live.  While a large department like Baltimore City may have five Fire Chaplains, a volunteer fire department normally have a member who holds the duties of a Fire Chaplain or they rely on area pastors for their Fire Chaplain needs. The Maryland Fire Chiefs Association strives to have Fire Chaplains available within each region and county. The current Chief Chaplain of the Maryland Fire Chiefs Association is Richard “Chappy” Bower and the Deptuy Chief Chaplain is Robin Howard. If you are interested in joining the MFCA as a Fire Chaplain, you may CLICK HERE to see the requirements and complete an application.