The Firehouse Yak: Chad Costa – The Single-Role Fire-Based Paramedic

Chad Costa is the assistant chief for the Petaluma, CA, Fire Department. With more than 25 years of fire service experience, he has worked in various organizations, including CAL FIRE, rural and semi-rural districts, and a city. As a battalion chief, Costa was the technology and communications battalion chief. He is now a rostered operations branch director for CalFire Team 1 and an alternate operations branch director on California Interagency Team 5. Costa is an accredited Chief Fire Officer through the Center for Public Safety Excellence and has a bachelor’s degree in emergency services management and a certificate in homeland security. He is attending the 2022 Executive Chief Officer Program at the National Fire Academy and is working on his master's degree in fire executive leadership/emergency services management. Costa is a member of the Firehouse Editorial Advisory Board.

Peter Matthews is the conference director and editor-in-chief of Firehouse. He has worked at Firehouse since 1999, serving in various roles on both Firehouse Magazine and Firehouse.com staffs. He completed an internship with the Rochester, NY, Fire Department and served with fire departments in Rush, NY, and Laurel, MD, and was a lieutenant with the Glenwood Fire Company in Glenwood, NY. Matthews served as photographer for the St. Paul, MN, Fire Department.