Professional Services

Assistant Fire Chief Christopher Kip has been a member of the Columbia-Richland Fire Department since 1996.

He began his career as a volunteer member and served two years out of Station 27 in northeast Richland County. Eventually Chief Kip became a career firefighter with the department and worked his way through our ranks to the role of assistant fire chief.

In each of his roles with CRFD Chief Kip has demonstrated his resolve to better our department and its many members.

As a senior firefighter he edited the department newsletter, served on our safety committee and was a peer supporter for firefighters who experienced critical stress from their service.

As a fire engineer he taught classes in emergency medical care and helped write and edit administrative quarterly reports for the department. He also created and then chaired the CRFD Awards Program.

During his time as a fire captain, Chief Kip provided innovative training opportunities for our crews. He also redesigned preplan systems, and researched and tested the performance of various types of equipment in an effort to improve our department’s safety and effectiveness.

As a battalion chief he helped research the best practices for firefighting operations in high rise buildings. Chief Kip also assisted with drafting various standard operating guidelines for CRFD and helped create our policy review process. He also wrote and taught curriculum in our promotional development academies, served on the validation committee and had the opportunity to participate in our department’s strategic planning process for the years ahead.

Chief Kip believes in the importance of our service to the community and loves catching our members succeeding.