The Firehouse Yak: Christopher Zak – Moving for a New Career in the Fire Service

Peter Matthews talks with Christopher Zak, who retired out of Connecticut and took a training chief’s job in South Carolina, about the transition to a new place for a new role and what he has learned.

Peter Matthews

Christopher Zak

Feb. 17, 2025

Assistant Chief Christopher Zak talks with Peter Matthews about his retirement from the Milford, CT, Fire Department and transition to a new career in Hanahan, SC. He moved to become a training office and has since promoted to assistant chief.

Zak talks about the decision to call an end to his first fire service career and how a Google search took him to South Carolina, plus the conversations and insight he sought from trusted and unknown fire service leaders. After that 700-mile move, Zak found himself in a new department, new city and with a phone void of contacts to help him navigate his duties.

Learn how the leap of faith has led Zak to a renewed sense of commitment to the fire service and why it’s important to look at other agencies if you are ready to move on in the fire service.

Christopher Zak

Resources

Christopher Zak’s Firehouse.com bio page and article

About the Author

Peter Matthews

Editor-in-Chief/Conference Director

Peter Matthews is the conference director and editor-in-chief of Firehouse. He has worked at Firehouse since 1999, serving in various roles on both Firehouse Magazine and Firehouse.com staffs. He completed an internship with the Rochester, NY, Fire Department and served with fire departments in Rush, NY, and Laurel, MD, and was a lieutenant with the Glenwood Fire Company in Glenwood, NY. Matthews served as photographer for the St. Paul, MN, Fire Department and currently is a photographer for the Fort Worth, TX, Fire Department.

Christopher Zak

Christopher D. Zak has more than three decades of experience in the fire service. He currently holds the position of Assistant Fire Chief/Chief of Operations at the Hanahan, SC, Fire Department. Zak previously served as a battalion chief for the Milford, CT, Fire Department (MFD). His fire/rescue experience spans all parts of emergency services as well as special operations, having served on the MFD’s dive and hazmat teams. Zak was the original rescue team manager of the Urban Search and Rescue, Connecticut Task Force 1. He is a member of the International Society of Fire Service Instructors, an adjunct instructor for the Connecticut Fire Academy and secretary for the Charleston Area Training Officers Association.