Charles Hood

Charles Hood was sworn in as the fire chief of the San Antonio Fire Department (SAFD) in 2007. Prior to that, he served with the Phoenix Fire Department, starting in 1984, where he rose through the ranks from firefighter/paramedic to assistant fire chief and was a member of the department’s urban search and rescue task force and FEMA’s Urban Search and Rescue National Incident Support Team. Since joining the SAFD, Hood doubled the size of the hazmat and technical rescue teams and established a health and wellness program. Under Hood’s leadership, the SAFD was awarded a Class 1 Public Protection Classification rating by ISO and received accreditation from the Commission of Fire Accreditation International. Hood holds a Bachelor of Science in fire service management from the University of Ottawa and completed Harvard University’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government program and National Preparedness Leadership program. He is an adjunct faculty member at Texas A&M University National Emergency Response and Recovery Training Center.