By Natalie Jones
Baltimore Sun
BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. — Baltimore County’s investment in fire department leadership took center stage Wednesday as officials marked the addition of 12 battalion chiefs with a traditional fire service “push-in” ceremony at the Eastview Fire Station in Dundalk.
The $3.4 million funding, included in County Executive Kathy Klausmeier’s fiscal 2027 budget, expands the department to six battalions and 12 battalion chiefs, addressing what fire officials have long described as a shortage of command officers responsible for overseeing emergency operations across the county.
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Wearing white uniform shirts, about a dozen Baltimore County firefighters pushed one of the department’s newly marked battalion chief SUVs into the station — a physical effort aimed at representing an “act of unity” to show how members depend on one another, said Klausmeier, who was seated inside as the vehicle rolled backward.
The storied tradition dates back to the 1800s when horse-drawn fire engines were manually pushed into a station by fire crews. Now, the move is typically done to celebrate new equipment.
Breaking down the impact
Klausmeier set aside the funds in her fiscal 2027 budget to expand the number of battalion chiefs in the department, which has long been short-handed on the officials responsible for overseeing operations at the scene of a fire or other emergency.
The majority of that $3.4 million directly funds the compensation packages for the 12 new positions, including base salaries, pension and health insurance. The base salary on the job posting ranged from $97,000 to $134,000.
Under the new plan, Baltimore County will have six battalions, or fire districts, and 12 battalion chiefs.
A battalion chief is a senior officer responsible for supervising multiple fire stations and companies, directing operations at fires and other emergencies, ensuring firefighter safety and coordinating any large-scale incident response.
The expansion comes more than two decades after Baltimore County slashed its number of fire districts from five to three, leaving only three field battalion chiefs on duty at any time. The reduction drew criticism from fire officials at the time, who worried about slower responses.
The number of battalion chiefs has not changed since then, leaving three command officials to cover 600 square miles, according to Baltimore County Fire Chief Joseph Dixon. A command officer in the Towson area, for instance, would cover the county all the way to the Pennsylvania state line.
“As always, what we do as professionals, we did the best that we could with the resources that we had, and our community can always count on that,” Dixon said. “But today, your first responders, guests and all that call Baltimore County home are safer.”
Mass casualty points to need
Two mass casualty incidents within the past month have further emphasized the need for more command officers, Dixon said. Earlier this month, a Maryland Transit Administration bus crashed into a building in Pikesville, injuring 36 people. On Tuesday, a school bus carrying students from the Maryland School for the Blind slammed into a commercial building in Parkville.
“What it also shows is that when we look at the initial data is how quickly we were able to get those command officers on the scene while also maintaining the ability to address whatever’s next — and making sure that we continue to meet the needs of our community,” Dixon said.
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