Chief Tom Shannon

Tom Shannon began his emergency services career in 1982 working in pre-hospital medicine as an EMT/Paramedic.  He was hired as a Glendale firefighter/paramedic in 1988. He rose through the ranks quickly and was promoted to Captain in 1997. As a Captain served as a HazMat Paramedic, Recruit Training Officer and Incident Safety Officer.  In 2001, Tom was promoted to the rank of Battalion Chief and assumed responsibility for the newly formed Office of Emergency Management (OEM), which managed the City of Glendale’s Emergency Management and preparedness efforts.  Several grant programs were initiated through the OEM and brought several million dollars in federal assistance into the city dedicated toward public safety and infrastructure protection. 

Tom promoted to Assistant Chief in 2004.  During his tenure as Assistant Fire Chief he over saw all areas of Fire Operations, Logistics and Major Event Planning including the fire service response to Super Bowl XLII. 

In 2008 Chief Shannon retired from the Glendale Fire Department to become Fire Chief in Salt Lake City, UT where he led that organization through significant organizational and fire service changes.  Renowned for his visionary and genuine management style, Chief Shannon redefined the SLCFD’s culture before returning to Arizona in late 2009. 

Tom joined the Scottsdale Fire Department as the City’s Emergency Manager and served as a Deputy Chief of Training and Executive Assistant Fire Chief until he was appointed to the position of Fire Chief in 2012.  He oversees all divisions of the department and serves as part of the Executive Management for the City of Scottsdale. 

Tom attained a Bachelor of Science in Zoology and Master’s Degree in Education/Leadership from Northern Arizona University and Masters of Arts degree in Security Studies, from the Center for Homeland Defense and Security from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA.