Josh Dennis

About Josh Dennis

In his time on the Chicago Fire Department (CFD) Josh has worked on fire companies from a diverse cross section of neighborhoods in Chicago, in the CFD’s Special Operations Division, and has been the recipient of several department awards.Furthermore, Josh served as assistant to the City of Chicago’s Chief Emergency Officer (CEO) within the Office of the Mayor, where he oversaw major projects and was the CEO’s liaison to both the Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) and the CFD. In 2016 Josh rewrote and updated the entire Chicago Fire Department Administrative Code. While a member of the CFD, Josh earned a Juris Doctorate from DePaul University, a Master of Science in Public Safety Administration from Lewis University, where he taught Issues and Trends in the Fire Service, on the undergraduate level, and a Master of Arts in Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School. In addition, Josh has guest lectured on Emergency Management issues at the University of Chicago, served as Chairman of the DHS Fire Service Intelligence Working Group (2008) and has been a member of the DHS Science and Technology Directorate’s First Responder Working Group since 2010 and member of the executive committee since 2017. Furthermore, Josh served as Commander of the Chicago Fire Department Tactical Operations/Intelligence Center, and was a Planning Section Chief on the CFD’s Incident Management Team. Josh has been on the scene either in a planning or operational role in the aftermath of both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the 2005 and 2016 World Series, 2007 AIBA World Amateur Boxing Championship, the 2008 Northern Illinois School Shooting, Election Night 2008 Grant Park Rally, the Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid, 2010 Chicago Blizzard, 2012 NATO Summit, 2010, 2013, 2015 Stanley Cup Parades along with numerous and various special events in the City of Chicago. Josh was also the Chief of Staff to the Fire Commissioner at the rank of District Chief where he oversaw the Homeland Security Division, all legislative affairs, planning, served as primary advisor to the fire commissioner, and was the department’s primary external representative. Currently, Josh was also the First Deputy Director of Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications consisting 2,500 employees and overseeing the divisions responsible for 9-1-1 call taking, police, fire, and EMS dispatch, 3-1-1 call taking, emergency management, traffic management, crossing guards, first responder radio communications system, the city-wide camera network, and city operations center.

Experience

1. Battalion Chief

   Chicago Fire Department

   Jun 2025 — Present · Chicago, IL, US

   City Wide Relief

Education

• Lewis University

  Master of Science (MS), Public Safety Administration

  2004 — 2006

• Naval Postgraduate School

  Master of Arts (MA), Security Studies

  2011 — 2012

• DePaul University

  Doctor of Law (J.D.), Law

  1999 — 2003