Chris Stewart

Chris Stewart is a native Phoenician and began working for the Phoenix Fire Department (PFD) in 1991 at the age of 20. Stew, as his close friends call him, owes his growth and progress to the many mentors that raised him in the first half of his career.  After being able to establish both of their careers, Chris was fortunate enough to marry his high-school sweetheart, Andrea, and is proud to have two teenage sons who take after their mother.

Stewart became a firefighter in 1993 and spent the first half of his career working on busy engine companies as a Firefighter and a Captain.  As a Firefighter and Company Officer, Chris was a FEMA – Urban Search and Rescue Responder with Phoenix Fire Department Arizona Task Force 1 (AZTF-1).  He worked multiple deployments including:

  • Northridge Earthquake (1994),
  • Alfred P. Murrah Building Bombing in Oklahoma City (1995)
  • September 11th Terrorist Attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City (2001)  

Chris is proud to have been a Firefighter and Company Officer for the greatest Fire Chief in the American Fire Service. We know him as “Bruno”, the rest of the world may know him as Fire Chief Alan Brunacini, or America’s Fire Chief. Bruno was a strong personal and professional boss and mentor to Stewart.

Chief Bruno’s example and mentorship drove Chris to spend his career dedicated to the development and training of Firefighters both inside and outside the Phoenix Fire Department.  Since promoting through the ranks, Chris has worked in many different sections as a Battalion Chief and Deputy Chief including Shift Commander.  Those responsibilities have included:

  • Dispatch and Deployment
  • Emergency Medical Services
  • Director of Training (responsibilities include)
  • Command Training
    o Departmental Training
    o Recruit Training
    o Probationary Firefighter Training
    o Peer Fitness Training
    o Driver’s Training
    o Special Operations Training
    o Emergency Medical Services Training
  • Homeland Defense Bureau
  • Operations Safety
  • Aircraft Rescue Firefighting (ARFF)

Stewart’s most notable accomplishments as a Section Chief include the development and leadership of modern fire behavior research into the everyday incident training, command, strategy, and tactics of the Phoenix Fire Department. Additionally, Stewart lead the development of unified violent incident response for the Phoenix Fire and Police Departments, earning the Phoenix Police Chief’s Unit Award in 2019.

Stewart is a qualified Type III Incident Management Team (IMT) Incident Commander having worked multiple national events and deployments.  Most notably:

Anderson California Wildfire Deployment (PFD Type III IMT)

  • Operations Section Chief
  • Deputy Incident CommanderSuper Bowl 49
  • Deputy Incident Commander, Phoenix IMT\February 2015College Football National Championship
  • February 2015College Football National Championship
  • Coordinator, Multi-Agency Coordination Center (MACC)• January 2016College Basketball Championship
  • Coordinator, MACC
  • April 2017

Outside of the Phoenix Fire Department, Stewart serves the local and national community in the following roles:

  • Contributing and feature author for B Shifter Magazine on many topics including Company Officer Development and Violent Incident Management
  • Adjunct Faculty for Paradise Valley Community College, developing and teaching classes in Fireground Tactics and Strategy, Supervisory Training, and in the Fire Operations Academy (Firefighter 1 & 2) teaching Fire Command, Functions of Command, and Strategic Decision Making.  
  • Subject matter expert panelist for the Coordinated Fire Attack in Acquired Structures Study conducted by Underwriter’s Laboratory Fire Safety Research Institute (UL-FSRI).  
  • Co-founder of the Arizona Interscholastic Cycling League (AICL) in 2012.   The AICL is a youth development organization with the vision of empowering every Arizona teen to strengthen their mind, body, and character through the life-long sport of cycling. In 2020, the AICL will have over 1,400 student-athletes and almost 500 volunteer coaches participating in a state-wide interscholastic race series.

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When not bettering the fire service, you can find Stewart on his Pivot mountain bike riding the trails of the southwest with great friends and spending time with his family.

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Instagram @redcpstew