Chief Trisha L. Wolford

Fire Chief, Anne Arundel County Fire Department, Maryland

Trisha Wolford is the Fire Chief of the Anne Arundel County Fire Department in Maryland, one of the largest combination fire departments in the country. Chief Wolford is the 12th Fire Chief in the history of the Department. Anne Arundel County is 580 square miles, covered by 31 fire stations, which serves a population of over 650,000 community members. Chief Wolford is responsible for over 1100 career firefighters, approximately 500 operational volunteer firefighters, 950 administrative volunteers, 34 fire communications operators, and 58 civilian support staff.

Chief Wolford was hired as an entry level firefighter by the Anne Arundel County Fire Department on January 26, 2006. Chief Wolford operated as a firefighter/paramedic until her assignment to the Fire Marshal’s Office in 2011. She spent seven months training at the Anne Arundel County Police Academy and was sworn in as a law enforcement officer in May 2012. She was then assigned to the Fire and Explosives Investigation Unit where she promoted to Lieutenant in 2014. With her law enforcement and paramedic background, Chief Wolford was a member of the Anne Arundel County Tactical Medic SWAT program for four years, providing medical attention to the Anne Arundel County Police SWAT Team.

In December 2015, she accepted the position of Deputy Fire Chief/Fire Marshal with the Bozeman Fire Department in Bozeman, Montana. She was responsible for administrative services, public education, code enforcement, fire investigation, fire inspections, company inspections, and city Fire Marshal duties.

In 2017, Chief Wolford joined the Spokane Fire Department (WA) as the Assistant Fire Chief overseeing full operations of the department. She directly supervised Deputy Chiefs managing Operations, Training, Support Services, Human Resources, and the Fire Marshal Division. On January 28, 2019, she returned to Anne Arundel County to fulfill her dream of becoming Fire Chief in her home department.

Chief Wolford received a Master’s Degree in Management and Organizational Leadership from Western Governor’s University in 2020 and her MBA in 2022. She has a Bachelor’s Degree from Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, WV and received her Paramedic certification from Anne Arundel Community College in 2009. She continues to be a Nationally Registered Paramedic. Chief Wolford is a graduate of the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy and a graduate of the IAFC’s Fire Service Executive Development Institute (FSEDI) and holds a CFO and CFM designation from the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE). Chief Wolford is the Vice President of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and Secretary for the IAFC’s Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association Executive Board.