Special Teams

Operations is the largest division of the department and is made up of 124 uniformed firefighters, 51 apparatus engineers, 64 firefighter/paramedics, 51 lieutenants, 6 division chiefs, and 3 assistant chiefs. These are the personnel that make up the fire companies. Assistant Chief Gregg Knudtson supervises the Operations Division and is supported by Division Chief Ernesto Martinez and Division Chief Michael Popovich, who coordinate the Special Teams. Chief Popovich oversees Lake Rescue, Hazardous Incident Team, and the Rapid Intervention Team (RIT), while Chief Martinez is in charge of the Heavy Urban Rescue Team (HURT), along with Technical Rescue and Field Service activities.

Madison has twelve (12) fire stations serving the city. Each day (24-hour shift), there are a total of 72 on-duty personnel that make up the fire suppression companies, rescues, and special teams of the fire department. All on-duty personnel are under the supervision of one Officer In Charge (OIC). The OIC is on duty for 24-hour periods and is responsible for directing all operations and emergencies. OIC's are readily identifiable at fire scenes as they are positioned inside the Command Vehicle with the Chief's Aide. At all emergency incidents, department procedure calls for a command post to be set up at the scene. The command post is responsible for the overall direction of emergency activities.