John Douglass
District Fire Chief - Shift Commander

District Fire Chief John (Scott) Douglass joined the Des Moines Fire Department on October 1, 1973. Throughout his years of service to the Department, he has held the ranks of Firefighter, Engineer, Lieutenant, Captain, and District Chief. His most recent promotion to District Chief occurred in February of 1997, thus making him the Department's senior District Fire Chief. Chief Douglass is currently assigned to Fire Station #1 and is responsible for the operations of Stations 1, 4, 5, 8, and 9, all at various locations on Des Moines' west side.

Chief Douglass has received extensive training and experience in fire suppression, incident management, hazardous materials, fire prevention and code enforcement. He has earned a Fire Specialist Certificate from Des Moines Area Community College and attended several National Fire Academy courses. During his tenure on the Department, Chief Douglass has also worked as a relief dispatcher and taught numerous times at the Des Moines Fire Department Recruit Academy.