Title: Fire Chief
Company: Oakland Fire Department
Location: Oakland, California, United States
Damon L. Covington, MPA, fire chief of the Oakland Fire Department, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Executives for dedication, achievements, and leadership in public safety and fire departments.
Having grown up and attended high school in Oakland, California, Mr. Covington has devoted a career of 25 years to public service to benefit the city he loves. He first built up the importance of community while attending Bishop O’Dowd High School, an institution that heavily values local service. During his time in high school, Mr. Covington participated in a number of volunteer activities, including coat drives, canned food drives and serving food at a soup kitchen. He found himself inspired and fulfilled by helping people in his community and kept that feeling with him as he attended college.
After graduating from college, Mr. Covington wasn’t sure what to do next, when he felt a voice inside him say, “You should be a firefighter.” Despite not knowing anyone who had worked as a firefighter and having no understanding of how to become one, he set out on the path, committing himself to years of classes, tests, paramedic school and firefighter academy. Mr. Covington’s hard work culminated in 2000 when he joined the Oakland Fire Department as a fire engineer, firefighter paramedic and captain of training. Demonstrating strong leadership potential, he went on to earn promotions to lieutenant in operations, deputy chief of support services and deputy chief of operations.
In 2023, the mayor of Oakland appointed Mr. Covington as the fire chief of the Oakland Fire Department after several months of filling the role of interim fire chief. As the head of the department, he oversees more than 500 employees across seven divisions, including medical, operations, emergency management, fire prevention and financial divisions. Mr. Covington considers his appointment as fire chief to be the highlight of his career and an acknowledgement of his many years of strong service across every rank in the department, which has given him an impeccable understanding of how the group operates and areas where it could be improved or better supported. He notes that in addition to an average of at least one fire per day, the Oakland Fire Department responds to around 80,000 medical calls every year. Mr. Covington believes this makes the organization’s work necessary and irreplaceable, even in the era of artificial intelligence. He maintains that there is no replacement for having a human who can express true empathy at one’s side when going through a medical emergency.
Prior to embarking upon his professional journey, Mr. Covington sought a solid educational foundation. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in sociology from Sonoma State University in 1996. Subsequently, Mr. Covington earned a Master of Public Administration from Golden Gate University in 2013. He was licensed as a paramedic by the state of California in 1998 and completed certification as a senior executive in state and local government from the executive education program at Harvard College’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2024.
Long dedicated to civic advocacy, Mr. Covington has contributed his expertise in various forms outside of his primary vocation. Most notably, he served as the president of the Oakland Black Firefighters Association from 2016 to 2022, as well as the board director of the Rodeo-Hercules Fire Protection District from 2018 to 2022. Devoted to uplifting others, Mr. Covington has coached basketball and flag football in his community. He also currently serves as an adjunct professor in fire science for Merritt College.
Beyond his career, Mr. Covington is a loving father to one son. He spends most of his free time with his son or doing philanthropic work. Looking ahead, Mr. Covington plans to continue nurturing the Oakland Fire Department until his retirement. He is particularly focused on ensuring that the department values diversity in hiring and has improved community outreach to help draw more people into this line of work. Mr. Covington also intends to establish a foundation that will help address budget concerns with the Oakland Fire Department.
For more information, please visit:
Contact Mr. Covington: