Listen: Chris Costamagna is the new Chief of the Sacramento Fire Department with 27 years experience with the department.
Chief Costamagna
City Manager Howard Chan has appointed Chris Costamagna to serve as the next Chief of the Sacramento Fire Department.
Costamagna, a 27-year veteran of the department, currently serves as its Deputy Fire Chief of Technical Services. He will assume his new role immediately, becoming the City of Sacramento’s 23rd Fire Chief.
With more than 32 years of experience in the fire service, Costamagna joined the Sacramento Fire Department on Sept. 11, 1995. As Deputy Chief of Technical Services, Costamagna has responsibility for multiple divisions in the Fire Department, including fire prevention, fleet, logistics, communications, information technology and urban search and rescue. He also serves as co-chair of the department’s workforce equity team and was instrumental in launching the department’s Diversity, Outreach and Recruitment Division.
Previously, Costamagna served as Assistant Chief of Special Operations, Operations Shift Commander, Battalion Chief, In-Service Training Captain and Drill Instructor for the department’s Training Academy. He is known nationally for his work overseeing FEMA Urban Search & Rescue California Task Force 7 and for helping to develop the California State Urban Search and Rescue Training Group, on which he served as the liaison to the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
Costamagna holds a bachelor’s degree in Fire Science Administration and Leadership from Waldorf University and studied Crisis Management at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Executive Education. He also attended the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., where he earned a certificate in executive leadership.
Costamagna’s appointment follows a national recruitment process as well as a competitive and rigorous interview process. In his new capacity, he will oversee the department’s more than 700 employees and an annual operating budget of $173 million.
Covering 115 miles of service area, the Sacramento Fire Department operates 24 fire stations, from which it deploys 24 engine companies, nine truck companies, 18 ambulances, a rescue company, three swift water rescue teams and two hazmat response teams.