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Samuel Pena

Fire Chief (Retired)
Houston Fire Department
Houston, Texas, United States

Samuel Peña
Fire Chief (Retired)
Houston Fire Department
Samuel Peña has a diverse Public Safety background spanning over 30 years, recently retiring as Fire Chief for the Houston Fire Department (HFD) in Houston, TX. He previously served as Fire Chief for the El Paso Fire Department (EPFD) in El Paso, TX, after 4 years in the U.S. Air Force. Peña has been promoted to various supervisory and chief officer roles throughout his career. He is a PEER Assessor for the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) and has participated in numerous assessments of major city fire departments and military fire protection agencies.

Chief Peña has been a Credentialled Paramedic, and Advanced Medical Coordinator for the Texas Department of State Health Service. He holds certifications in Structural Firefighting, Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighter, Hazardous Materials Technician, Confined Space Rescue Technician, and Fire and EMS Instructor, and has served as planning director for HFD resources and led the incident management and unified command for a number of large-scale events including Super Bowl 51 (2017), Hurricane Harvey (2017), Tropical Storm Imelda (2019), Tropical Storm Beta (2020), Watson Grinding Explosion (2020), Hurricane Nicholas (2021), Winter Storm Uri (2021), Astroworld Festival Incident (2021), World Series (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022), College Football Playoff Championship (2024), and Hurricane Beryl (2024).

Chief Peña holds a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Texas-El Paso, and an MBA from the University of Texas-El Paso. He has instructed certification courses in various fire and emergency medical service disciplines. Chief Peña contributed on the 21st-Century Fire and Emergency Services white paper for the Center for CPSE and the International City/County Managers Association (ICMA), cited in Advanced Fire and Emergency Services Administration, 2nd Edition, published in 2022 by Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC., and was a contributor on “Command Presence; Increase Your Influence,” Fire Engineering Books, 2023. Chief Peña currently serves as a Board Member of the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association. He is active in a variety of national associations and serves on numerous committees.

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