Chris Costamagna is the Fire Chief for the City of Sacramento, California. Chief Costamagna started his fire service career with Cal Fire in May 1990. Chris entered the Sacramento Fire Department academy on September 11th, 1995.
Before his promotion, he served as the Deputy Chief of Technical Services, responsible for the research and development of the new Personal Protective Equipment and Cancer Reduction Initiative, along with the management of multiple resource development initiatives and several key evolutions, including a new dispatch system in the stations and the delivery of two replacement stations.
Some vital technological advances were upgrading the SCBA fleet from low to high pressure, installing thermal imagers in the department in 2004, and managing divisions. These divisions include logistics, information technology, communications, facilities, and fleet development.
Early in his career, Chief Costamagna worked on standardizing riding positions and some of the first standard operating guidelines (SOGs), which included riding positions, and standard equipment packages for engines and trucks and the tools assigned to the riding positions. During this time, Chief Costamagna began to get involved with teaching in the fire service, working for Fire Engineering and Firehouse magazines, and teaching both classroom and hands-on training. He continued teaching and working on both the first-generation Rapid Intervention Crew (RIC) packs and the large area search rope and bags that were a necessary complement to the addition of the thermal imaging cameras (TIC) that were placed into service in early 2004.
Chief Costamagna has also been involved with the Urban Search and Rescue Team since 1996, where he has held multiple operational and management positions, from squad leader to task force leader. Chief Costamagna was the Task Force Program Manager and the Western Division Program Manager representative for six years, from May 2011 to 2017. Chris is currently the Task Force Sponsoring Agency Chief, representing the 200-person FEMA Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) Branch team. Chief Costamagna has deployed to several National US&R events, including the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, and more recently deployed as an Incident Support Team member to Texas, Massachusetts, and Puerto Rico during the 2017 and 2021 hurricane seasons.
Chief Costamagna is a graduate of Waldorf University with honors, earning a B.S. in Fire Science Administration and leadership. He has also attended Harvard University’s Kennedy School certificate program on Crisis Management. In 2018, he graduated from Monterey, California’s Naval Postgraduate Executive Leadership program. Over the past three decades, he has responded to some of our nation’s most significant disasters in operational and management positions. Along with his responses to catastrophes, Chief Costamagna has always brought his experience back to the department and the city. Chris has worked through the department ranks from firefighter to fire chief since his start in September 1995.
