Fire Chief Derek Bergsten

Chief Derek Bergsten serves as the Fire Chief of the Poudre Fire Authority (PFA), bringing over 31 years of professional fire service experience to his leadership role.   He began his firefighting career as a firefighter/EMT volunteer in 1989 for the City of Loves Park, Illinois. He was hired as a firefighter/EMT by the Rockford Fire Department in 1994 and rose through the ranks, serving as Fire Chief for about 13 years.  In 2020, he was named the Illinois Fire Chief of the Year by the Illinois Fire Chief Association.  Chief Bergsten came to PFA in May of 2021.  

Since joining PFA, Chief Bergsten has overseen a department that responds to the growing needs of more than 209,000 residents across a 230-square-mile area, including Fort Collins, Timnath, LaPorte, Bellvue, Horsetooth, Redstone Canyon, and unincorporated areas of Larimer and Weld Counties.

Chief Bergsten leads a highly trained team of over 222 uniformed and administrative personnel and manages an operating budget of $44.2 million. Under his leadership, PFA responded to more than 25,000 emergency incidents in 2024, delivering services including firefighting, EMS, hazardous materials mitigation, extrication, technical rescue, wildland fire response, and community risk reduction. The department operates 13 fire stations across six divisions and maintains national accreditation through the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE).

Free viewers are required for some of the attached documents.
They can be downloaded by clicking on the icons below.

Acrobat Reader Windows Media Player Word Viewer Excel Viewer PowerPoint Viewer