Mayor Fulop Promotes 6 Captains; Historic JCFD Staffing Levels Generates need for Leadership as Administration Continues Public Safety Investments

143 JCFD Promotions and over 200 Firefighters Hired since 2013, Bringing Department to 666 total Members

JERSEY CITY – Mayor Steven M. Fulop and Public Safety Director James Shea announce the promotion of 6 firefighters to Captains at a ceremony in front of family and friends inside City Hall Council Chambers at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, January 21, 2020.  The new superiors will fill the ranks and help provide critical leadership to the hundreds of firefighters on the Jersey City Fire Department.

“With their new rank comes great responsibility, and I’m confident these new Captains will help further the overall goal of the fire department – to increase public safety citywide,” said Mayor Fulop.   “We have hundreds of newly recruited firefighters, and it takes strong leadership and experienced mentors to continue efforts to build upon the best fire department this city has ever seen.”

When Mayor Fulop took office in 2013, an average of 4-5 firehouses were forced off duty every day and night due to inadequate staffing, ultimately putting the lives of Jersey City residents at risk.  Since then, the Administration has worked to hire over 200 firefighters and fill in the superior ranks to ensure all 26 firehouses citywide are fully staffed every shift, 365 days a year.

“As Captain, they’ll be responsible for the direct supervision of the firefighters,” said Director Shea.  “We have a young force following the large amount of recent hires, and that means the higher ranks are responsible for teaching and guiding those with less experience to help keep all our residents and first responders safe.”

The Jersey City Fire Department made over 15,500 emergency responses in 2019, 1,300 of which were fire-related.