About Us

Photo of Fire Chief Reginald T. Johnson


Fire Chief Reginald T. Johnson comes to the City of Charlotte Fire Department with nearly 25 years of well-rounded fire service and emergency management experience from Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department. Chief Johnson has a Master's of Science degree in Emergency Management and a Bachelor's degree in Management Studies from the University of Maryland University College. He served as alternate on the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1710 Committee and has professional membership with the International Association of Fire Chiefs, North Carolina Association of Fire Chiefs and International Association of Fire Fighters.

Chief Johnson embraces the mission of the department and strives to always improve the all-hazards and nationally recognized services delivered to the citizens and visitors to the Queen City. He also envisions a department truly engaged in the community at the local level as demonstrated daily by the men and women of the department.

Some additional priorities include:

  • Increased fire and life safety education for the community
  • Improved health and safety of department members
  • Improve diversity within the department, to better reflect the community we serve
  • Embrace innovation and education as a means to improve overall efficiency and effectiveness

There are three deputy fire chiefs, each assigned to manage specific divisions/content areas in the department.

There are also six division chiefs to further facilitate communication and collaboration across the Charlotte Fire Department and to enhance opportunitThere are also six division chiefs to further facilitate communication and collaboration across the Charlotte Fire Department and to enhance opportunities to immerse the fire department into neighborhoods for better community impact across the city.



Office of the Chief Fire Chief: Chief Reginald T. Johnson



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Special Projects Manager  |500 Dalton Ave | phone: 704.336.7680


Manager: Lisa Williams



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Administrative Support  |500 Dalton Ave | phone: 704.336.2791





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Office of Public Information and Community EngagementBattalion Chief: Matthew Westover



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Public Information Office  |500 Dalton Ave | phone: 704.336.2094


Public Information Officer: Captain Dennis Gist
Public Information Officer: Captain Jackie Gilmore



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Fire and Life Safety Education  |1517 N. Graham St. | phone: 704.336.3974


Senior Fire and Life Safety Educator: Amy Rea
Fire and Life Safety Educator: Christie Russell
Fire and Life Safety Educator: Leigh Kish




Deputy Chiefs


Deputy Chief Samuel Jones

Deputy Chief Samuel Jones - Deputy Chief of Operations



Deputy Chief Samuel Jones joined the Charlotte Fire Department in1989. He was promoted to the rank of Fire Captain on January 8, 2005 as a Relief Captain and later assigned to Ladder 1. He was reassigned to the training academy and spent over 4 years training recruits and facilitating in-service training for the department. He also was assigned to Station 8 for 3 years until his promotion to the rank of Battalion Chief in 2016. Chief Jones served as the Battalion 4 Chief until his promotion to Deputy Chief on November 10, 2018.


Deputy Chief Jones has a Bachelor's of Science degree in Business from Bluefield State College in West Virginia. He is also a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. Chief Jones is responsible for overseeing Charlotte Fire Department Operations which includes 42 fire stations, rescue services, dive operations, hazardous materials, airport rescue & firefighting operations for the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. This also includes coordinating, planning, organizing and directing all phases of Charlotte Fire Department operations with the Fire Chief.


He is leading the department with honor, integrity and professionalism. Through his mentorship, firefighters have achieved opportunities in advancement through the ranks. He maintains cohesiveness within the department and manage successful diversity recruitment campaigns within the department.

Chief Jones has been married to Tina for 32 years and they have three children, sons Samuel Jr, Christopher and his daughter Taylor.




Division Chief A-Shift: Daracus Newman
Division Chief B-Shift: Lance Foulk
Division Chief C-Shift: Kent Davis
Division Chief of Special Operations: Vacant


Battalion Chief ARFF: Robbie Myers
Battalion Chief HazMat: Timothy Hartsell
Battalion Chief Rescue: Peter Skeris




Deputy Chief Cynthia Bonham

Deputy Chief Cynthia Bonham - Deputy Chief of Business Administration



Cindy Bonham is the Deputy Chief of Business Administration with the Charlotte Fire Department. She has been with the department for 26 years. Prior to Deputy Chief, Chief Bonham was the Health and Safety Officer for the department where she was instrumental in the development of the Cancer Task Force and Behavioral Health Program. Chief Bonham has been extensively involved with fire accreditation serving both the Charlotte Fire Department as the Assistant Accreditation Manager from 2000-2005 and the Accreditation Manager from 2005-2010.


She is a team leader, technical advisor, and technical reviewer for the Center for Public Safety Excellence and has been involved with the Center since 1999. Chief Bonham has been a member of the Safety, Health, and Survival Section of the IAFC since its inception. Chief Bonham has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Philosophy from University of North Carolina Charlotte and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from University of North Carolina Pembroke. She has been a designated Chief Fire Officer since 2005.




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Deputy Chief of Business Administration  |500 Dalton Ave | phone: 704.336.4174


Deputy Director of EM: BC Robert W. Graham III

CFD Communications (CFD Alarm): Johnathan Horn


CFD Information and Technology


Strategic Planning and Research: Battalion Chief David Farnum


Logistics Division  |1501 N. Graham St. | phone: 704.336.2411


Logistics Division Chief: Damian Owens


Fleet Manager: Captain Jeremy Kennedy


Facilities Coordinator


Fire Marshal’s Office  |500 Dalton Ave | phone: 704.336.2101


Fire Marshal: Johnathan Leonard


Arson Task Force  |1517 N. Graham St | phone: 704.336.3970


Chief Fire Investigator: Paul Wilkinson


Fire Prevention Beaureau  |500 Dalton Avenue | phone: 704.336.2112




Deputy Chief Jerry Winkles

Deputy Chief Jerry Winkles - Deputy Chief of Personnel Administration



Since joining the Charlotte Fire Department in 1995, he has been continually driven to prepare himself to serve the citizens of Charlotte through education, training, and on the job experiences as he rose through the ranks. His operational preparedness and experience began as a Firefighter I and II, and continued as he served as an Engineer, Captain, and Battalion Chief. Administratively he has completed many special projects including serving as the Accreditation Manager and leading the ISO re-evaluation project that resulted in the City of Charlotte’s ISO Class I rating. He also served as the Strategic Planning Chief for the department.


Deputy Chief Winkles has completed the Executive Fire Officers Program (EFO) at the National Fire Academy and received the Chief Fire Officer’s (CFO) designation from the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE). He has a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology- Fire Safety from UNC- Charlotte.


Deputy Chief Winkles and his wife have four children; they enjoy serving at their church, hiking, and camping.




Recruitment: Stepfan Jones

Training Division  |1770 Shopton Rd | phone: 704.432.1700


Division Chief of Training: Paula McDaniel



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​The Charlotte Fire Department is led by Fire Chief Reginald Johnson.

Fire Chief Reginald T. Johnson comes to the City of Charlotte Fire Department with nearly 25 years of well-rounded fire service and emergency management experience from Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department. Chief Johnson has a Master's of Science degree in Emergency Management and a Bachelor's degree in Management Studies from the University of Maryland University College.  He served as alternate on the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1710 Committee and has professional membership with the International Association of Fire Chiefs, North Carolina Association of Fire Chiefs and International Association of Fire Fighters.

Chief Johnson embraces the mission of the department and strives to always improve the all-hazards and nationally recognized services delivered to the citizens and visitors to the Queen City.  He also envisions a department truly engaged in the community at the local level as demonstrated daily by the men and women of the department.

Some additional priorities include:

Improved health and safety of department members

                    • Increased fire and life safety education for the community
                    • Improved health and safety of department members
                    • Improve diversity within the department, to better reflect the community we serve
                    • Embrace innovation and education as a means to improve overall efficiency and effectiveness

There are three deputy fire chiefs, each assigned to manage specific divisions/content areas in the department.

There are also six division chiefs to further facilitate communication and collaboration across the Charlotte Fire Department and to enhance opportunities to immerse the fire department into neighborhoods for better community impact across the city.

Fire Chief Reginald T. Johnson comes to the City of Charlotte Fire Department from the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department with nearly 25 years of experience.  Chief Johnson has a Master's of Science degree in Emergency Management and a Bachelor's degree in Management Studies from the University of Maryland University College.  He is an alternate on the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1710 Committee and has professional membership with the IAFC, Virginia Fire Chiefs Association, IABPFF, and IAFF. 

 

While Operations Chief for Fairfax County Fire and Rescue, he supervised nearly 1,300 uniformed men and women operating from 38 fire and rescue stations. Fire Chief Johnson managed the deployments and responses of fire suppression, technical rescues, swift water rescues, hazardous materials, and emergency medical services. His responsibilities also included basic and advanced life support and emergency medical transportation for the protection of over 1 million residents. 

 

Additionally, Fire Chief Johnson oversaw the Urban Search and Rescue Program (USA-1/VA-TF1), which is a disaster response and humanitarian resource maintained by the department through partnerships with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 

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